


About the Hunt

by Ourea



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Multi, Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators AU, Semi-Good Akatsuki, Slightly Sakura-centric, Supernatural Elements, hunters au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-10-30 14:06:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 53,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10878345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ourea/pseuds/Ourea
Summary: Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are all 12th year students who have been exposed to a world beneath the surface of their own, containing creatures and mythologies they had only before read about. Between school and life, they take care of these issues for people who are plagued by malicious spirits and other creatures.





	1. Humble Beginnings

“University of Tokyo, huh? I don’t understand what the big deal is.” Naruto hummed, trying to play it off. He was inwardly both furious and downtrodden. Both of his best friends were going away in the fall to a college he wouldn’t be able to get into though he tried his best. His brow was drawn tightly and he pouted thoroughly. Sakura couldn’t help the sympathetic smile.

“Hey, don’t look so down about it.” Sakura couldn’t help but feel bad for him. She rubbed his back gently, trying to get him to look her in the eye. “You’re starting an apprenticeship, remember! Under Jiraiya-sama! You’ll be a published author before Sasuke-kun and I have even gotten into our third year.”

“ _Please,_ ” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Nobody wants a trashy self-insert novel about ninjas.”

“They are **not** trashy!” Naruto yelled, lunging at Sasuke only to be held back by Sakura. He thrashed in her arms before growling and whining all at once, eventually giving up and slumping against her iron grip. “ _I-I mean, really… are you part-Hulk?_ ” He whined under his breath.

Sakura lifted him up off the ground by the scruff of his shirt and dropped him on the face. He yelped and held onto his nose tightly as it dripped with the smallest amount of blood that he quickly wiped away.

“For your information, unlike you two lazy asses, I work out. I am not part Hulk.” She said matter of factly, dusting the imaginary dirt off her hands and smoothing her skirt down. “And Sasuke!” She pointed at him next. “His novels are not trashy! They’re great and fun!”

“You’re only saying that because he glorified you in them.” Sasuke shrugged.  
  
“That isn’t true! Sakura Haruno is a hard working character who earns for everything she has and rises to the top!” Naruto defended, causing Sakura to blush and waved away his praise of the character based on her.

“You implied she was romantic with literally everyone—and everyone in my family?! Why?! Why both my uncle AND my older brother--and our cousin!” Sasuke’s cheeks were redder than Sakura’s and at this she became nervous. Naruto always had a way about putting her character in these risqué situations with people she actually admired in real life. Like Itachi, for example. Like Sasuke's famous lawyer-uncle Madara, for another example. She cleared her throat nervously.

“Only two relationships are canon! Her character and Ino’s, and her character and mine!” Naruto gloated, practically glowing with pride.

“I still don’t like that ending.” Sakura nodded. “I’d rather be with Ino-chan. At least she bathes every day.” She smirked at Naruto who deflated at her remark.

“Oh come on, I wear deodorant! Bathing anymore than every other day is just a waste of water.” Naruto urged, grabbing Sakura’s hands. She pulled her hands away though he did his best to hold on. She hugged herself, tilting her head.

“But I don’t want Ino-chan either! I love her, but not like that! If I had to pick a lady…” Sakura hummed thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes and trying to decide which woman in her life hypothetically won her heart. “Well, Tenten-chan is super cool with all of her Kendo practice… and then there’s Temari-chan—you know, from Osaka—she’s hot. Mmm, but maybe Hinata-chan, she has an absolutely enormous pair of—“

She stopped when she realized Naruto and Sasuke were both grinning at her lasciviously.

“Eyes! She has big, beautiful eyes!” Sakura hissed, face heating up as her mind drifted to thoughts of her friend’s breasts. She couldn’t shake the image, though she didn’t particular mind. Maybe she did have a thing for women after all.

“Sakura-chan likes your ex-girlfriend,” Sasuke couldn’t hold back his smirk and she glowered at him hatefully.

“I’m not into women, so get your respective heads out of your respective asses.” Sakura challenged. She huffed indignantly. If only her Sasuke were a bit more like the Sasuke in Naruto’s stories, all mysterious and dark. She grimaced, then turned away, continuing on their walk. “Yes, _back to what you said,_ Tokyo University.” She blanked for a moment. “I don’t know what I’m going to major in yet, or if I’ll go, but I hear good things about it, so I’m considering it. My mom plans to pay for it all anyway, so what’s it matter?” She shrugged.

“Well, we’re not all that lucky!” Naruto pouted again.

“How’d your mom end up with enough money to pay for all of it, anyway?” Sasuke asked suspiciously. Naruto tuned in, wanting to know as well.

Tsunade had adopted Sakura when they were all in middle school, after Sakura’s parents disappeared in a sketchy accident involving a river. Later, in their 7th year, they investigated, only to find an Ubagabi was behind the incident. That was their first encounter with the paranormal. Through the rest of high school, they went on a total of 6 adventures involving purging Tokyo of evil spirits, demons, and ghosts.

“She won it big at a casino over in America.” Sakura admitted shamefully. “Those poor casino workers…”

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. Her mom could sure be scary, and she wouldn’t put it past her to have scared the dealer into setting up her win. She was barred from most casinos in Japan for doing that exact thing. Sasuke gave a huff of amusement and watched Sakura’s saunter for a moment too long before Naruto was giving him an angry look and him trying to play it off like he wasn’t just checking her out.

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura called, glancing over her shoulder. “Have you decided what to major in?”

“I don’t want to go to University of Tokyo,” he said dismissively. “I’m going to Waseda Univserity like my brother, and father, uncle, and Shisui. It’s the only one they’re willing to pay for and I don’t want to be saddled with debt right out of college.”

“Geez, you two get it easy.” Naruto grumbled. “I’m gonna have to deal with pervy sage.”

“He’s not a sage, but he is pervy.” Sakura’s lips twisted in dark amusement, remembering the time he had tried peaking on her while she changed. His nose was still shaped differently, and she even offered to break it and reset it. He avoided her now.

“Yeah! Imagine trying to deal with him for two years!” Naruto yelled, stomach growling and cutting off a possible tirade. “Hey, let’s stop by that ramen stand before we go our separate ways.”

“You’re paying for mine.” Sakura informed him casually, but nodded. He looked to Sasuke who only shrugged that he didn’t care either way.

“Alright!” Naruto threw his fist in the air, jumping up and down excitedly before darting directly to it, nearly a kilometer up the road. Sakura only laughed at his jovial antics and turned to look at Sasuke before she smirked, jumping in front of him.

“Get on my back.” She said firmly, squatting down so he could piggy back comfortably.

“I have my pride, you know.” Sasuke informed her, hesitating. There was a light tint to his cheeks. He chuckled lightly when she grunted in disdain and wiggled her hands at him. “Fine, but only because Naruto will eat all the ramen before we get there if I don’t allow this.”

“Hah! Hold on tight!” She warned, standing up straight, holding his thighs securely and running after Naruto. Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, careful not to choke her. Honestly, he quite enjoyed it, but he’d never in a million years, allow anyone to know that. Saving his face, she set him down before Naruto could spot the two. She smirked at him and fixed her jacket baring their school’s logo.

He returned it and ducked into the tiny restaurant, seating himself a seat away from Naruto. It was an unspoken law that Sakura sat in the middle, wherever they went. If they were in a restaurant that had booths or tables, then she would get one side to herself, and him and Naruto would sit together. It’s just how things were.

“The usuals!” Sakura determined, waving eagerly at the younger woman that worked there. The woman smiled fondly, having already prepared them when she saw Naruto.

“Here you are,” She said and sat them down in front of her and Sasuke. Sakura immediately began eating, but Sasuke had more manners than the two of them combined. Growing up with a semi-wealthy family did that to some people.

“Glad to see you three still hanging out! Graduation’s approaching, what’re you three going to do?” Teuchi asked, making light conversation. He didn’t mean to make the three deflate significantly, but nonetheless, the three dimmed.

“Those two are going off to fancy colleges.” Naruto sulked again. “I’ll be down in Fukuoka with that old man, Jiraiya-sensei.”

“You’ll be studying under _the_ Jiraiya Toad?!” Teuchi blanked. He couldn’t believe it. Sure, he had read the poorly written stories Naruto had come up with, but for one of Japan’s most famed authors to take him under his wing meant the boy had some real talent!

“Yeah,” Naruto said casually. “He’s not as great as you think he is.”

“He’s actually kind of lecherous.” Sakura added.

“And annoying.” Sasuke topped it off, causing Ayame to giggle. Those three always brightened her day.

“You should rename your main character, though, Naruto-kun.” Teuchi said, leaning on the counter. “Kishi just isn’t a good name! Moto isn’t even a good surname! You can’t have a character named Kishi Moto. What about… Teuchi?”

“I’m not naming my beloved Kishi-kun after you!” Naruto defended his character. “I want people to like him!”

“People like me!” Teuchi said, aghast. Then the two of them laughed mirthfully.

They finished their meals and paid, taking in the sunset as they walked out.

“Ah, two more months, huh?” Sakura sighed, tears threatening to deface her. She grimaced at Naruto. “I can’t believe you’re going to be all the way in Kyushu. That’s… so far.” She breathed.

“ _Sakura-chan_ ,” Naruto meandered closer to her as they walked and threw an arm around her shoulders. She mentally berated him for growing so tall that her shoulder barely hit his chest. “We’ll stay in touch. We can video chat and text and call, that’s what all that’s for--keeping in touch!” He said proudly.

Sasuke’s easy expression faltered and he walked to the other side of her, pushing Naruto’s arm just slightly out of the way and slinking his own around her. She cursed him as well for growing much taller than she.

“You’ll still have me,” Sasuke sighed, feigning a haughty attitude. “Who needs this loser anyway? He’s lame and thinks orange is a good color to wear all the time.”

Sakura giggled as that started a squabble. She shouldered about in their grips and put both her arms around their waists, before grinning wickedly and stopping. They looked down at her uncertainly as she widened her stance. They tried to get away but she was quicker than both of them. She bent her knees and squeezed them tightly as she lifted them in the air. They kicked and squirmed but she held them tightly.

“You’ll stop your fighting!” She told them.

“Okay! Just put me _down_!” Sasuke hissed, blushing vividly as she metaphorically emasculated them.

“Sakura-chan! We’re sorry!” Naruto whined but laughed with embarrassment as his feet met the ground.

She smiled and kissed them both on the cheeks just as they reached the gate of her house.

“Alright! One last thing!” She took a deep breath, grinning from ear to ear in a manner that worried them. “The Hyuga family has discretely reached out to me.” She whispered, grabbing them both by their shoulders and tugging them down into a huddle. “They need us to check out their main estate in Kyoto. They’re paying travel and hotel fees, and we’re going.” She informed them.

“Finals—“ Sasuke tried, but Sakura made a noise to interrupt him. She was hanging out with her personal trainer, Gai-sensei, far too much. She was picking up on his habits of interrupting and making odd noises.

“This will be our last, seventh adventure, before we go our separate ways.” Sakura said, brows knitting. “Come on, we _can’t_ turn it down.”

“You almost got killed on our last one.” Naruto reminded her. “Remember? In that haunted teahouse in Osaka? Almost got killed twice.”

“And I recovered from both the shock and the stab wound and I’m ready to go!”

“Will Tsunade-san let you go?” Sasuke asked, accidentally making eye contact with her monster of a mother as she glared out the window at him. The last time he and her mother interacted, he had accidentally found himself on top of Sakura after tripping over a pair of clothes she had lying on her floor during a study session. Tsunade refused to believe either of them, citing that they shouldn’t use cheesy clichés as excuses for their fooling around.

“Well, it will take some convincing, but I’ll wait until she’s drunk… the night of our departure.” Sakura said nervously. “She’ll understand when we come back with the money.”

“Woah, how much are they paying us? The Hyuuga are loaded.” Naruto said, remembering the first time he learned his girlfriend’s family owned just about all the banks in Japan. Sakura nervously leaned in to whisper something. Sasuke stared in disbelief and Naruto went pale.

“O-O-O-One hundred… fifty… _million yen_?” Naruto whispered, the last few words ending up more high pitched then he would have liked.

“They hired a group of paranormal researchers before and they disappeared.” Sakura said nervously. “Four were partially eaten.”

“We should probably pass.” Naruto returned, equally cautious. "We're not even... official or whatever."

“Hell, I’d do it without you two idiots for one hundred fifty million.” Sasuke chuckled quietly.

“You have a death wish.” Naruto bit out at him.

“You two quit bickering before I hold you both bridal style.” Sakura threatened. She had luckily grown out of the habit of hitting them when she got mad at them, but both of them wondered if getting picked up was worse.

“Let’s do it.” Naruto said after a long pause. Sakura smiled hopefully and Sasuke nodded just slightly.

“Yeah,” She hummed. “It’s in ten days! That means we leave Friday morning, 6am. We’ll be skipping again, so… just prepare for Kakashi-sensei’s lecture when we get back.”

“Like he has any room to gripe.” Naruto laughed. “He’s late literally everyday—not figuratively—he was late to the assembly celebrating his own promotion to principal!”

“He was late to his _wedding ceremony._ ” Sasuke reminded them.

“He tried to claim his husband was just super early.” Naruto snickered. “Oh man, I still remember the look on Obito-san’s face. He knew it was coming, too.”

  
“Sakura!” Tsunade called from the window. “It’s getting dark! Come in!”

“Well, gotta go!” Sakura broke the huddle with a hug to both of her best friends. “See you bright and early tomorrow—and we’re taking the train! I’m not booking it on my bike again and getting all sweaty before class!”

“Fine.” Naruto grumbled. He enjoyed the race of getting to school on time when they rode their bikes. His sentiment was not shared among the group.

“See you,” Sasuke hummed with a wave, already walking away. His mother would have his head if it took much longer for him to get home.

Sakura trotted inside and greeted her mother with a hug and kiss on the cheek. She waved at Shizune, one of her mother’s dearest friends.

“Good evening, Sakura-chan!” Shizune waved happily. “You look lively!”

“Yes! It’s been an eventful day.” Sakura said, sitting at the dinner table, and thanking her mother as she set a cup of tea in front of her.

“You already had dinner.” Tsunade remarked wryly. “I can tell because you didn’t make a B-line for the refridgerator.”

“Yes, and I can tell you were dealing with Danzo again, because you went straight for the liquor!” Sakura returned, playing their game of obsservances.

“I mean—how political does a goddamn hospital have to be!” She shouted, suddenly remembering her dealing with her boss and slamming the bottle on the table and earning giggles from the two women. “We don’t need to ‘fire the surgeons who think they should be paid more’! _We need to pay them more!_ I can’t believe that man got anywhere in life—he’s so selfish! You know, we pay the least out of all the hospitals in all of fucking Tokyo--yet we're ranked one of the highest! _Somewhere,_ someone's fucking lying."

Sakura smiled amicably, sipping her tea lightly as her mother and Shizune struck a conversation up, going on about the patients they treated that day and the other namely bullshit they had to put up with.

“Well! I have some studying to do.” Sakura said, dismissing herself. “It was lovely to see you again. Shizune-san! Goodnight, mom!” She called, waving as she went up the stairs, grabbing a pear from their fruit bowl on the way up.

She jumped in the shower before pulling her robe on. She stretched and settled down at her computer desk. Her hands hesitated before opening her laptop. A couple of years ago, after an immense amount of research on the internet, she found a forum that genuinely dealt with the supernatural, rather than just said they did like they were writing some horrible fiction stories. She typed in the address and dolled around on there for about an hour before joining the main chat room.

[cherry_blossom7 logged in]  
[cherry_blossom7]: hey guys!  
[raven]: Good evening, Cherry.  
[bad_priest]: hey!  
[puppet_master]: I don’t think it’s something you can take care of alone, Shark.  
[shark_bites78]: whatever. i dont see u jumpin at the opportunity.im already out here. y not?  
[cherry_blossom7]: what are you looking at, shark?  
[shark_bites78]: just some vampiric sort of deal. im in italy.  
[puppet_master]: I’m not that far. You should wait for me, or Raven. He’ll be out there in a month. I can make it in a week, if you decide to split the profits with me.  
[shark_bites78]: i cant wait that long! it got 8 civvies already.  
[raven]: If it is not a vampire, you would be in bad waters.  
[shark_bites78]: dont use ocean puns with me you slinky bastard  
[angel logged in]  
[angel changed the group chat name from ‘Ghosts n’ Shit’ to ‘Grow the Fuck Up, You Know Who You Are’]  
[bad_priest]: whatever! it works!!! >:(  
[angel]: you have the maturity of a stunted 12 year-old.  
[puppet_master]: Angel, do you think Shark should go after that new case alone?  
[angel]: that would be irresponsible, but he can handle it. he got that dybbuk three weeks ago  
[cherry_blossom7]: are you sure it’s a vampire, shark?  
[shark_bites78]: no but whatev. raven, u there?  
[raven]: afk  
[shark_bites78]: o shit he used ‘that fuckin text speak’ this must be serious  
[fox_fire99 logged in]  
[fox_fire99]: yo!!!!  
[cherry_blossom7]: hey there!  
[angel]: hello  
[puppet_master]: Hi.  
[bad_priest]: agree wit me, fox!! ghosts n shit was funny!  
[hawk44 logged in]  
[fox_fire99]: yea it was! omg who changed it. ill but it was cherry

Sakura sat back in her seat, rolling her eyes and taking a bite out of the pear. Now that her as Cherry, Sasuke as Hawk, and Naruto as Fox were all there, she could get opinions. She reviewed the rest of the notes she had taken when on the phone with Hiashi. She shared what she knew with the group, as others gradually logged in. It was about 8 pm, and that was usually the time the chat room on the forum would fill up.

Hinata’s father had given her little information on the situation. He had stated there were half eaten clansmen popping up. He had relayed information that an ‘ugly old man’ had been lurking about in the their estate, and though they initially thought he was a servant, they failed to find him during the hours of the day, and he never spoke or even acknowledged their presences during the evening and night time hours.

[god logged in]  
[bad_priest]: that sounds gross as shit!  
[raven]: It sounds like some sort of cannibalistic spirit.  
[art_is_a_bang]: good job sherlock, i think they noticed, yea?  
[angel]: given your locations… tokyo right :?  
[cherry_blossom7]: kyoto actually, is where we'll be at least  
[angel]: congrats on your chance to travel. that always makes the days a little better  
[angel]: escaped gaki? its not likely, but they can sometimes wander into our lovely realm here.  
[god]: Cannibalistic spirit? Kyoto, japan?  
[cherry_blossom7]: and looks like an old man (maybe) >.<  
[god]: Were the dead bodies that of children?  
[fox_fire99]: fuck what r we getting ourselves into? O_o  
[cherry_blossom7]: none of them were children  
[god]: That eliminates an Ao Bōzu, then. I was just dealing with one of those on the outskirts of Kyoto.  
[angel]: yes but we killed the whole nest. i doubt any escaped.  
[god]: Good point. You said Gaki, right?  
[angel]: yes, it could be one of those. according to cherry, most of the body was consumed and the blood was drained, likely as a drink.  
[god]: That complicates things. What type of family is this?  
[hawk44]: They’re all very rich. It’s their main estate, their mansion.  
[bad_priest]: good catch, cherry! rich people r gr8 when they need help. u guys should wait on me! im coming to japan for the first time in two months  
[angel]: something this serious cant wait, priest.  
[bad_priest]: yeah but it was a good try right? plus i wanna meet cherry!  
[raven]: She’s out of your league, Priest.  
[angel]: wb raven  
[puppet_master]: priest, focus

Sakura snorted in amusement though a small blush came to her cheeks. Priest was a huge flirt, and she still had no idea why he was so interested in her. After all, she could be an old man for all they knew.

[greed logged in]

Ah, the beauty of online chat rooms. Hell, he could be an old man for all she knew. _Whoops_ , distracted again.

[raven]: I was reviewing all of the messages, could it be a Jikininki?  
[angel]: raven, you should help them. you’re close by.  
[raven]: I am unable.  
[god]: He’s on a hunt under my orders, Angel.  
[angel]: oh.

Naruto furrowed his brows. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet, but that was his nerves. As each creature was being named, he had to look it up to see what it was. He wasn’t a walking encyclopedia like his two ‘teammates’ seemed to be.

[puppet_master]: My money is on Jikininki.  
[greed]: What are we betting on?  
[bad_priest]: shut it, stitches! unless ur contributing.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He knew that most of the forum’s members that were active were all from one organization named the Akatsuki, but he often got confused as they used nicknames for each other that weren’t their screen names. He assumed Stitches was Greed and moved on.

[hawk44]: So how do we kill a Jikininki, Raven?  
[raven]: That depends.  
[hawk44]: Cryptic as usual, Raven.  
[god]: It depends on whether or not the creature laments his cravings or not.  
[fox_fire99]: what do we do either way??????? D:  
[angel]: lure them with the scent of blood, either way  
[god]: If they do not like eating people, you can kill them with a regular bullet to a vital organ, but if they have forgone all humanity in favor of their diets, you must burn the entire body. Do any of you have guns?  
[cherry_blossom7]: no, we don’t have access to them. they’re kind of contraband and what not for three unlicensed 12th years.  
[angel]: greed?  
[greed]: That’s a little out of my way, angel.  
[angel]: come on, don’t be stingy, you aren’t that far.  
[greed]: Fine. The little fuckers better be grateful.  
[hawk44]: Said fuckers want to know what’s going on.  
[bad_priest]: what a grump. u and stitches shud get along fine  
[greed]: *should  
[bad_priest]: *fuk u  
[greed]: When are you three leaving for Kyoto?  
[fox_fire99]: fri @ 8am!!  
[cherry_blossom7]: friday at 6am, fox.  
[greed]: I can be in Tokyo Tuesday. Cherry, pm me.

Sakura hesitated. She didn’t particular _want_ to buy guns. She certainly didn’t want to meet perhaps the grumpiest person in the forum who seems to also be the meanest. Nonetheless, if ‘god’ had suggested guns, she would listen. He was the admin of the forum, him and Angel, and together they’ve had the most experience and the best advice. They hadn’t been wrong in their advice so far, so she had complete trust. Still, she’d never met any of them before. With slow actions, she opened up a second chat window.

[cherry_blossom7 started a new whisper-chat!]  
[greed]: I’m going to need to know what district you’re in.  
[cherry_blossom7]: we all live in the Meguro district  
[greed]: hmph. That boring place. I suppose it’s not /too/ far from Shinjuku, and I have business there anyway. I’m feeling awful generous today, so where would you like to have this little exchange?

Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat, drumming her fingers against her desk worriedly. Where could they go that they wouldn’t be seen buying guns. She wanted to meet him out in a dark alley so that no one would see, but… was this the type of person she _wanted_ to meet out in a dark alley?

[greed]: I promise not to jump you.  
[cherry_blossom7]: lol i didnt think that.  
[greed]: You’re a bad liar.  
[cherry_blossom7]: we can meet at naka-meguro station.  
[greed]: I’ll be there at 1:30. Are you able to skip, school girl?

Sakura quirked a brow and made a face at her computer screen. He was patronizing her, likely in search of a reaction.

[cherry_blossom7]: i’m perfectly capable, thank you  
[greed]: Of course you are. Since this is your first time doing anything unorthodox, I suggest to you that you don’t let Fox and Hawk follow you around. It’ll only serve to attract unwanted attention. Especially Fox. He seems... loud.  
[cherry_blossom7]: so i should just come behind the train station and meet a strange man all by myself?  
[greed]: Don’t play that card, I’ve seen your record. You took down a fucking Oni.

Her pride seemed to puff itself up, but she tried not to let that come through in her words.

[cherry_blossom7]: fine. what do you look like? what do i look for?  
[greed]: Tall, Dark

There was a long pause

[cherry_blossom7]: usually the saying goes ‘tall dark and handsome’  
[greed]: I don’t make presumptions. What one woman finds attractive, the next does not.  
  
She couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement.

[cherry_blossom7]: well, because you gave such a truly excellent description 10/10, ill just look for the creepy tall man giving me a look and hope its you. i have pink hair. hard to miss. how much will it be for three guns + ammo?  
[greed]: Brb. Let me check.

Sakura stood up then and decided to stretch. It was nearly her bed time if she had any hope of working out before school in the morning.

[greed]: Angel’s covering the cost. Though, I charge a delivery fee of 10,000 yen.  
[cherry_blossom7]: kay. i’ll have it.

He was a stingy bastard.

[cherry_blossom7 rejoined ‘Stop Messing With the Title’]  
[raven]: Welcome back, Cherry.  
[bad_priest]: whatev stitches said to u shudnt affect how u see me, cherry!  
[cherry_blossom7]: so how about burning it. are we talking inferno, oven, blow torch?  
[god]: Kerosene and a lighter should do it. I assume you have access to those.  
[hawk44]: I’ve got that taken care of.  
[raven]: Hawk is a pyromancer.  
[hawk44]: What’s your problem with me, Raven?  
[fox_fire99]: he is!!!!!! omg 1 time he almost burnt down our school!!!! raven how did u kno?????  
[raven]: He has that personality.  
[hawk44]: Shove it up your ass, Raven.  
[puppet_master]: Those two fight like siblings.  
[hawk44]: My older brother’s a dick, but nothing like Raven.  
[raven]: No, you do remind me of my younger brother. He always picks fights he can’t win.  
[god]: Enough or I’m putting you two in time out, children.  
[angel]: lol  
[bad_priest]: hahahah  
[fox_fire99]: god for prez 2k17  
[god]: Cherry, I would advise you to be extremely cautious. I do believe Raven is right in that it is a Jikininki. They can look just like regular people, but a bit more ugly.  
[fox_fire99]: evrybdy from the clan were helping is super pretty. even the boys. so well notice!  
[hawk44]: It could be an employee there, idiot  
[angel]: regardless, it will always be a hermit of some sort or another.  
[cherry_blossom7]: thank you all for your help. ill do some research and prepare! thank you so much angel! :*  
[angel]: you’re very welcome, cherry. (◕‿◕✿) don’t worry about reimbursement, you just stay safe this time <3  
[cherry_blossom7 logged off]  
[fox_fire99 logged off]  
[hawk44]: Fuck you raven  
[hawk44 logged off]

Sasuke snickered as he got the last word. He stood up from his desk top and finally headed out of his bedroom. The ramen hadn’t lasted long in his stomach. He trodded to the kitchen where his father was also fixing a late night snack.

“Rice cake?” Fugaku asked, indifferent about his son’s late night eating habits. It seemed to be hereditary.

“Sure.” Sasuke returned, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. He took one of the mentioned cakes from his father's plate.

“Your mother washed your uniforms. Make sure to thank her.”

“I will.”

“Goodnight, Sasuke.”

“Goodnight.”

His exchanges with his father were always brief. Itachi was the favorite child, though he didn’t particular mind. It let him slip under the radar a lot more. Even with his older brother’s near constant absence, his parents didn’t notice when he was gone for days at a time. He’d always tell them he was pulling an all-nighter again at Naruto’s place in preparation for some big exam. So long as he kept his grades up, his father didn’t care one way or another.

Itachi was always out on business trips with the Tokyo Police Department. Shortly after graduating high school he had landed a job as their top investigator, so was always being pushed around the 47 districts, sometimes further out in Japan. If Itachi had a passport, there was no doubt he’d be all over the world solving bullshit as well.

Sasuke envied him, but felt bad for him at the same time. The stress of the job had put seemingly permanent bags under his eyes. He spotted just that man in the living room and decided to join him on the couch. Itachi looked up from his phone and nodded lightly.

“When are you moving out so I can get your room?” Sasuke said curtly, putting his feet on Itachi’s lap and grinning when his brother shot him a look.

“When I have the time to find an apartment.” Itachi returned. He really never had time to search. With his missions, he barely had time to lie about having a job at the police department, though he kept his family well in the dark. Itachi eyed Sasuke. Even Sasuke, who ran in the same forum, often communicating with him over chat, didn’t have a clue. He almost wanted to laugh about it.

Itachi’s attention returned to his phone. Sasuke thought it was glued to his hand or something, because he never saw it anywhere else.

“When are you going to get a boyfriend or girlfriend?” Sasuke pestered him.

“When are you going to ask Sakura on a date?” Itachi returned slyly. Sasuke’s cheeks became red.

“It’s not like that. We’re just friends.” Sasuke muttered. “Besides, I’m ninety percent sure she’s more interested in Tenten or Hinata or someone.”

“Just because she’s stronger than you?” Itachi asked.

“Come on, that’s shitty even for me.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “No, it’s because she’s always mentioning ‘if I had to pick a lady’ nonsense, and those two names come up the most.”

“Hn,” Itachi acknowledges, typing something. Sasuke tried to peak, but Itachi was more clever. “If you want to see pornography that badly, go watch your own.”

“Gross, Itachi.” Sasuke groaned and pressed his heel into his leg with no response. He rolled his eyes again and got up. “’Night.”

“Sleep well, Sasuke.” Itachi hummed, glancing up to watch Sasuke leave. He let himself grin in his younger brother’s absence. ‘Cherry’ did seem like the type to prefer women. She was always doting on Konan. However, he was wiser. After all, Sakura had even told Itachi she liked his younger brother. Then again, that was middle school. Perhaps things had changed. Perhaps she'd moved on from his rejection in 8th year.

Sasuke trudged upstairs, finishing the rice cake in his hand and barely making it to his bed before collapsing, when he remembered to text Sakura and ask her about what her and Greed were talking about. That guy was from the Fourth Circle of Hell, surely. He was always talking about the money he made, the money he earned from the bodies of things he killed. He even took up non-paranormal work on the side as a bounty hunter. He just didn’t seem like the type he was comfortable exposing Sakura to.

He pulled out his phone and sent the message, now worrying more about the fact they’d be carrying around guns. That wouldn’t go over well if anyone knew. Where would Sakura even hide hers? If she wasn’t wearing her school uniform, she was always wearing damn workout clothes or these frilly outfits. He stood up and wandered to his closet, pulling out one of his many navy blue hoodies. He’d give her one of these. Just so she could hide the gun. And for no other reason. No other reason at all. His phone buzzed.

(Sakura Haruno) don’t worry too much about it. angel sent him, so I’m sure it’s fine! but we do need 10k yen. Care to pitch in or am I using funds that we saved for this exact reason?

(Sasuke Uchiha) Use the funds. We’ll put the leftover from this new mission in there to replace it.

(Sakura Haruno) kk.

He hesitated for a moment, sitting back down and looking at his desktop screen.

(Sasuke Uchiha) I’m going with you when you meet this guy.

(Sakura Haruno) nope. That’ll look super suspicious. I’m okay to go alone.

(Sasuke Uchiha) then let me go instead of you

On the other side of this conversation, Sakura took a deep breath, putting a hand over her face and mentally retracting the sassy comments dying to get out of her.

(Sakura Haruno) I’ve kicked your ass in PE so many times.

Yeah. That was a lot nicer than what she was originally going to say.

(Sasuke Uchiha) …. Valid point. Night.

(Sakura Haruno) Goodnight!

She grinned at her phone. Unlike Naruto, who hadn’t apparently realized she would be meeting up with an old creepy guy to buy guns, Sasuke knew when to quit with her. He knew that often, nothing could change her mind when she settled on doing something. She counted down the days to the encounter and marked it on her phone’s calendar. What would she ever do without that thing?

Sakura crawled in bed, bringing her laptop with her. She didn’t want to waste time on sleep. ‘God’ made it sound like she could be facing one serious bad guy. She opened up her computer to find a message from him.

“Speak of the devil,” She murmured, opening it and smiling. He had sent her a picture, no doubt drawn up by Puppet, who drew up photorealistic renderings of all the things they encountered as fellow denizens of the forum. The thing in the depiction was a hunched over, tall, slimy looking creature. Then a warning was underneath it.

‘Engage only hostily.’ He told her. ‘There’s no hope at reformation unlike with your previous 4 hunts.’

She hesitated. It made it easier of course, just point and shoot. The last hunt, they had the opportunity to save that Rokurorubi, but Naruto had botched it, resulting in herself being stabbed and splashed in lamp oil. She knew after that, not every creature could be reformed. Not the ones that lashed out. Same as humans.  
She remembered waking up in the hospital with Tsunade holding her hand worriedly, and an origami angel hanging on one of her IV stands. Sasuke later informed her that Angel had mailed it to him after finding out. She still wondered how Angel knew Sasuke’s address.

With thoughts in her head of the upcoming hunt, she shut her laptop after another five or six hours of research. She set her alarm for 5:30am sharp. Groaning about the exactly 2 hours of sleep she would get, she settled into her mass of blankets and drifted off.


	2. Suspicions

The buzzing of his phone woke him up and told him it was his final alarm before he had to get his ass out of bed. Naruto groaned and rolled over, looking at the phone. He murmured at it before getting up. The house was silent. It meant his cat was asleep, miraculously. He dragged himself into a shower. After Sakura’s comment, he would make sure to shower every day, especially if that was the only thing she could think of standing in a relationship between them.

30 minutes later, dressed, showered, and fed, his eyes for finally open, though dimly and begrudgingly. He yawned and met Sasuke first. He was equally unamused at the morning starting so early (as it always did), and held what would be his third cup of coffee.

“’Mornin.” Naruto grumped.

“Yeah.” Sasuke sighed. “She’s going to be pumped up as usual. I heard her, Gai-sensei, and Lee-san running around the neighborhood two hours ago. Oh, she came back our way to meet us.” He muttered tiredly and waved. Sakura took a final drink of her protein shake before tossing the disposable cup in a nearby trashcan.

“Hey! Good morning! Either of you do research last night?” She asked, smiling widely.

“A Jikininki eats people.” Naruto said, still not fully awake. Without riding the bike in the morning, he was barely sentient. But he refused to wake up any earlier to exercise like Sakura liked to do.

“Ha…” Sakura blanked for a moment before shaking her head and walking again. “Yes, but… beyond that?”

“Raven is a dick.” Sasuke murmured.

“You two,” Sakura grimaced. “And Raven is nice! Nicer than some of them—like Puppet, Greed, or Cactus!”

“Most people are nicer than Puppet.” Naruto pointed idly at the air, as if said person was standing right there. “I’ll bet he’s super short in real life. And Cactus is either super nice, or the meanest son of a bitch...”

“Okay…” Sakura sighed. “Well, I did research.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Sasuke quipped, taking another sip of coffee.

“And we’re looking at a beefier, creepier, _eat-ier_ Wendigo. Luckily, Priest had encountered a Jikininki a couple of years ago—apparently they’re relatively harmless and only eat bodies that are already dead.” Sakura nodded.

“But Hiashi-sama said that the bodies were recently killed.” Sasuke interjected.

“Yes, so that leads me to believe either this Jikininki is not like the others, or there is a murderer among the Hyuga who happened to attract this yokai with his ill-intent—just like what happened with Angel’s most recent hunt.” Sakura theorized.

“Oh yeah, how much do you want to bet God and Angel are fuckin?” Naruto snickered. “God was straight up flirting with her this morning when I checked in on the chat!”

“That would make sense… they have vaguely- _matching_ screen names.” Sasuke shrugged. He didn’t particularly care one way or another.

“You two are such gossips. Ino-chan would be proud.” Sakura chided and readied her train pass as they approached the station. They all scanned in and worked their way through the heavy crowd. “Has it always been this busy?”

“Yes. Everyday.” Sasuke deadpanned.

“God, you two are grumpy as hell in the morning!” Sakura hissed, grabbing them both by the wrists and steam rolling through the crowd. People began to move out of their way now.

The trio boarded and Sakura managed to get a seat and rest her tired legs. 10 minute showers could only do so much for aching muscles, and Gai-sensei had run his two favorite students around the neighborhood four times—and it was a rather expansive neighborhood. Of course tomorrow, they’d do the same thing but with weights. She smiled fondly and remembered to text Lee about getting a friend discount at the athletics store he worked at. That would save her a lot of money. She went through tennis shoes like toilet paper.

Naruto’s sudden gasp startled her into almost dropping her phone and she looked up at him, mentally searching for danger. Then he turned to her.

“What about that creep!! Greed!! What did he say?!” He hiss-whispered. She ‘sh’d him.

“We’ll discuss it at lunch. Courtyard?”

“Rooftop.” Sasuke decided. Sakura rolled her eyes but nodded. Sasuke was so dramatic. He always wanted to eat lunch in the restricted areas.

“Gym bleachers—“

“ _No._ ” Sasuke and Sakura said unanimously. The last time they ate lunch in the bleachers, fifty other students were there as well. As social as the trio could be, lunch was their time to talk privately.

Naruto grumbled to himself as the train came screeching to a halt. They all exited, mostly surrounded by fellow students. He sighed to himself and dragged a bit behind. Sasuke and Sakura took off with a wave to their classes, more advanced than his own.

“Ah! Hey there, Naruto-kun!” He heard Ino yell. He turned and waved with a smile. She caught up and walked beside him. They had just about every class together. Though he came to notice, it wasn’t that she wasn’t smart enough to be in the same class as Sakura, it was that she never did the work. Same with Shikamaru, who trudged behind her. Choji however, purposely failed certain classes so that he could stay with Shikamaru and Ino. A true friend, _unlike his Sasuke and Sakura._

“What’s up with you lately? You’ve been super quiet—which is weird.” Ino remarked.

“Oh, Sasuke’s been hounding my ass about studying, so I’ve been doing that so he’d shut up—oh hey, you got your ears pierced!” He pointed, eyebrows raising a bit. “Oh man, do you think you’re gonna get in trouble for it?”

“What?! Nah! Kakashi-sensei doesn’t care! It was that Iruka-sensei that was always being a stick in the mud about the dress code! Now that he’s at another school, though…” Ino gestured at her ears, then the ears of her two friends. Naruto pouted. He wanted matching piercings or whatever. “Oh hey, have you heard back from any colleges yet?” Ino asked. At the clear dejection Naruto displayed, she supposed he didn’t.

“Nah, I’m just gonna go to a trade school or something.” He shrugged like it was nothing. He was a closeted author at school. He didn’t want his writings getting around to people he didn’t want to hear opinions from—and what if someone stole his ideas?! No, the only people allowed to read them were his friends. And though these people were technically his friends, they weren’t… friend-y enough. Ino would probably throw a fit her character’s romantic interest being Sai, class loner and starving artist.

“That’s just as good! Hey, no student debt.” Ino jabbed his side to cheer him up. “Shikamaru got into Tokyo University or something like that—but he’ll be shipping out to study abroad. In America. At Harvard. For International Law!”

Shikamaru said nothing, gazing up at the ceiling as they walked through the halls. He didn’t like to brag. He didn’t like much of anything as Naruto saw it.

“But what about your girlfriend?” Naruto asked.

_Ha._ He twitched. Busted.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” He coughed, cheeks reddening slightly. “Who are we talking about?”

“Telari.” Choji said, grinning down at Shikamaru.

“Temari.” He corrected, before flustering again.

“Geez, you can’t be lazy about your feelings, dude.” Ino whined, poking him. “Just tell her how you feel!”

“You four are going to be late.” A voice disrupted their conversation and Naruto grimaced horrifically. He knew that voice. When he turned he got the worst stare of his life— _Yamato-sensei had a stare like a Gorgon mixed with some sort of Oni._ Naruto shivered under the scrutiny and scrunched up his nose. “I suggest you hurry to class.”

“Y-Y-Yep!” Naruto managed, darting past him into his classroom.

Down the hall from them, Sakura sat in class, at the front as she normally was, with Sasuke beside her. Ironically, they had to sit through a mythologies course, teaching about all sorts of creatures from around the world. Initially they thought it would be helpful, but the only things they learned were the stereotypes about the creatures. God and Angel ended up teaching them much more than Asuma-sensei did.

“Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun. Am I boring you?” Asuma asked, startling the two out of their daze.

“Yes,” Sasuke said honestly.

“N-No! Not at all, just –tired, that’s all! Haha! Sorry, Asuma-sensei—he’s sorry, too! We’ll pay attention!” Sakura blabbered, not wanting to get stuck with cleaning duty out of turn again.

Asuma stared for a moment before grinning and returning to his lesson.

“Something nontraditional today.” He began, pulling down the projection sheet and flipping on the projector. He pulled up an image on his computer. It depicted a slender, average looking man with stark white hair and violet eyes, holding a scythe and grinning wickedly. “Something of a cryptid, I suppose. Urban legend, if you please.” He sighed, itching for a smoke break.

Sakura quirked a brow. That, she hadn’t seen before.

“Fifty-eight years ago in Athens, Greece, there was the beginnings of a cult, who focused on worshipping an ancient, unnamed deity. It wasn’t a very popular sect, only having about half a thousand members and two or three priests, but there was one priest that stood out among it.” He gestured towards the madman on the screen. “The entire thing was relatively harmless at first, more crazy than anything.”

Sakura scratched her neck nervously. She didn’t like not knowing what it was. More than likely it was just a tulpa thought up by some bored teenagers like themselves.

“It was said that he was harmless to anybody who was human, but that he and his fellow priests went about killing off creatures that harmed humans. They even preached peace for the creatures who were benevolent, talking about coexsistence.”

Sasuke and Sakura stiffened a bit as they stared at the man on the screen. For a moment they wondered if somehow Asuma knew, but that couldn't be the case.

“He claimed to be immortal, but was executed in 1987 after eleven bodies had been found in their church. He took credit for each one, and eighty-four others, whose bodies were never found, therefore never confirmed. He was _actually_ the last beheading in Greece.” Asuma ended on the light note.

Sakura stared down at her hands. Her kill count was three. Three creatures. Of course, it didn’t affect her as much as she thought it should, but nonetheless, there was a perfect example of the right thing being taken as a wrong thing. As Asuma became absorbed in the presentation of the many different cults of the Americas, Sakura got a chance to pull up her browser on her phone to check the forum.

[cherry_blossom7 logged in]  
[angel]: pay attention in class, cherry dear   
[cherry_blossom7]: hahaha. sorry ghost-mom. its nothing fun or interesting or useful, i promise. i mean, in this mythos class they’re teaching us that vampires turn to ash in the sunlight and werewolves can ONLY be killed by silver bullets.   
[angel]: oh! well, if that’s the case, don’t put too much into what theyre teaching you, that'll get you killed.  
[puppet_master]: More like what /won’t/ kill a werewolf?   
[angel]: wolfsbane in their tea wont. :( just weakens them

Sakura caught her giggle before it escaped her and looked up to check if Asuma had noticed. If he had, he didn’t say anything.

[greed]: That lead in Osaka was nothing. Just some boy who didn’t know how to use his powers yet. His brother and sister are now fully equipped with powerful seals and talisman for when he gets out of control again.  
[angel]: thank you, greed.  
[puppet_master]: Osaka?  
[greed]: Yes. The kid looked a lot like you. Had to kill his father though. The man was possessed with some sort of snake spirit. It got away before I could do anything about it.   
[god]: That’s the third instance with that snake spirit. I will be coming to Japan then, to investigate.  
[greed]: Feel free to stay at my place in Osaka. There’s a servant girl there. Just tell her who you are, she’ll let you in.  
[cherry_blossom7]: any update on shark’s vampire?  
[raven]: Yes. Thoughtful of you to ask. It was a displaced Red Cap.   
[cherry_blossom7]: red cap???  
[raven]: A Red Cap is essentially a goblin that murders and cannibalizes other goblins or human travelers. Now days they stick to airports and wait for someone to turn a wrong corner. For whatever reason, they always wear red caps, now baseball caps or something less suspicious. They’re still hideous though, so easy enough to spot.

Sakura smiled down at her screen. She could always count on Raven to explain things to her without being condescending like Puppet.

[hawk44 logged in]  
[angel]: same class?  
[hawk44]: I mean, honestly. How can such an interesting man teach such a boring class?  
[cherry_blossom7]: lol  
[angel]: almost makes me miss high school.  
[god]: Angel, you complained about high school for 6 years after graduating.   
[angel]: and???  
[god]: How could you miss it?  
[angel]: i miss hanging out with friends and whatnot. being lazy, not a care in the world. then again, i wasn’t a hunter back then like HawkFoxCherry. just an acolyte.  
[cherry_blossom7]: it isn’t so bad! kind of spices things up.  
[hawk44]: But it makes this particular class go by slower each day.

“The shapeshifter is one of the more universal creatures.” Asuma dragged on, still neglecting to notice the two star students completely disregarding class in favor of being on their phones.

[cherry_blossom7]: oh! reminds me. i was doing some research last night, but i couldn’t find anything on powers, or traits of the jikininki.   
[angel]: super strength, but that’s about it. they’re pretty good at hiding. like i said before, though. human blood draws them right out! its a pretty big weakness to them.  
[cherry_blossom7]: thank you! you are helpful as always! gotta sign off. about to change subjects in class. kisses!!!  
[cherry_blossom7 logged off]  
[raven]: Such a kind girl.  
[hawk44]: She’s out of your league.  
[raven]: Jealousy is ugly, Hawk.  
[hawk44]: I’m not jealous. I’m protective. I’m protecting her from an internet creep like you.  
[hawk44 logged off]  
[shark_bites78]: lol raven is an internet creep

The two had their phones away just in time for Asuma to lazily turn around, to explain the difference between a Jjin and a genie for the fifteenth time to Kiba, who was now only asking to annoy the teacher.

Sakura wondered how they made the leap from crazy priests to shapeshifters to genies. His class had just as much consistency as a cheesy paranormal-romance novel. She traced shapes idly on her desk and stared blankly at the wall.

The crawl to lunch was terribly slow. The trio snuck up to the roof, thankfully void of personel and students. Naruto pulled a picnic blanket out of his backpack and laid it out for the three of them. They sat down and methodically all unpacked their lunch and began eating, making light conversation. The air was unusually heavy. The dread of facing the unknown was a bit surprising. The three were startled when Sasuke’s phone rang. He stood up and stepped away from the group for a moment to answer it. His normally disrespectful tone broke and the other two got a glimpse of a surprisingly polite Sasuke. He cleared his throat when he hung up.

“Well… I won’t be going to Waseda full time. I’ll only be attending night classes… I g-got that internship at my uncle’s law firm.” He managed, throat suddenly dry. He scratched it nervously.

“Is it that creepy uncle? The one I accidentally called the Devil at your 13th birthday party?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Sasuke said, remembering Madara’s forboding stare. “He and his brother are co-founders, but he runs it solely since Izuna lost his eyes.”

“Wait, did you say lost his eyes?” Sakura looked at him incredulously. “How does someone lose their eyes?”

“Nobody is willing to tell the story, but…” Sasuke trailed off, polishing an apple for the fifth time before finally taking a hesitant bite. “One time I got Itachi shit-faced drunk and he told me this weird theory that Madara-sama stole Izuna’s eyes because he was going blind, and Izuna let him.”

“Sasuke-kun,” Naruto stared. “Your family is seriously fucked up. I keep expecting us to have to hunt one of them one day—maybe Shisui, he seems too nice for his own good. He’s probably some type of yokai.”

“It was just a theory, of a very drunk Itachi.” Sasuke dismissed and sat back, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face.

Sakura sighed peacefully but subconsciously ran her fingertips over the scar on her thigh. She hoped the Jikininki would be an easy job, but considering it already killed one team of investigators, she was extremely anxious. Guns would perhaps make her feel better about it.

“Sakura-chan, I can tell you’re worried. You have nothing to worry about. It’s the three of us.” Sasuke reassured her. “We stick together. The other guys were probably sloppy.”

“You’re right.” She smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. “I can’t help but worry, though.”

“As long as it doesn’t inhibit you.” Sasuke shrugged and checked his phone in an almost paranoid fashion.

“I’d say you’re more scared about your internship.” Naruto noted with a little grin. “So you aren’t afraid of cannibals but you’re scared of your dad’s brother?”

“He’s not even my dad’s brother. He’s so distantly related that we’re not even family, but my father insisted on us being exposed to him for whatever reason so he was always at family functions. Something between him and Itachi. Makes me think the Police Force is corrupt.” Sasuke rambled.

Sakura stared for a moment then touched his arm lightly. “It’ll be fine.” She reassured him with a smile. “You’re Uchiha Sasuke! You can face anything with that calm, cool and collective glare you always give us!”

Sasuke gave her a grimace that gave way to a real grin.

“Come on, we should get back before lunch is over!” Sakura said, packing up her things.

The three went about the rest of their day uneventfully. Sakura had a three hour training session with Gai-sensei and Lee after school, so she did not catch her classmates on their way home.

Naruto caught up with Sasuke at the gates of the school.

“So, I guess we should do some real research before she hounds us about it, huh?” Naruto asked, hands folded behind his head.

“I suppose.” Sasuke shrugged. “Let’s stop by a store and get stuff to fix dinner with though. You never have anything good at your house. Those cups of ramen don’t count as meals.”

“Wait why are we suddenly doing this at my house?” Naruto huffed. “And don’t insult 100yen ramen until you’ve tried some!”

“You have more room at your apartment.” Sasuke reminded him. “My room’s pretty small.”

“Yeah, well, just don’t piss off Menma again.” Naruto glared, pursing his lips at Sasuke.

“You and that damn cat.” Sasuke practically hissed. “Menma attacked me. Not the other way around.”

“Yeah, cause he can tell good from evil, I bet. You’re a closet oni.” Naruto snickered, causing Sasuke to punch him in the arm.

“Whatever, idiot.” Sasuke smirked.

* * *

“So, Sakura-chan, are you ready?!” Lee beamed at her. She couldn’t help but smile as well. Those two were so infectious with their glee. It was partially why she liked working out so much with the two. They were charming and fun.

“Yes!” Sakura affirmed, taking a defensive stance. She barely had a second to blink as Lee came at her. She dodged, deflected, and redirected most of his attacks, only letting a couple hit in order to get a better stance and make her own counter attack. He would swing for her face and she would block it with a forearm and go in for a knee to the ribs, which he would block with his other arm and attempt to put her in a hold now that she was close, which she would break and counter with her own hold. It ended like that. After a long 22 minutes, their sparring ended with Lee on the ground, both arms behind his back and Sakura straddling him and holding him in place.

“Very good! Both of you!” Gai called proudly.

“Yes. I see you still work to train the best students.” A voice piped up behind Gai, startling the older of the group. He played it off with a laugh.

“Itachi-kun!” Gai greeted with a hug, despite Itachi’s subtle but awkward attempt to avoid just that. He ended up accepting it and patting him stiffly on the back. Hug broken, Itachi looked to Lee, then to Sakura, who rose off of her friend and shyly bowed.

“No need for the formalities.” Itachi hummed. His voice was a gentle lilt, yet it held such a dominant masculine quality that it became an enigma to Sakura’s mind. She smiled nervously. “I came to see what you can do.” _That surprised her._

“M-Me?” She stammered out lamely, pointing to herself. Why would he care?

“Of course. I’ve got to make sure someone can watch out for my kid brother when you guys are off on your field trips. It’s not like you can go buy guns.” Itachi grinned, metaphorically batting her around like a cat would a mouse.

“Field trips?—Oh! Right!” Sakura blinked, trying to clear her mind of her own confusion. It seemed Sasuke had told his family they were going on a field trip. Alright. She could work with that.

“Kyoto, was it?” He asked, approaching her and Lee. He smiled politely at Lee.

“Y-Yeah. Kyoto.” She nodded with a smile. Itachi began pulling off his vest and work shirt.

“Well, let’s see how well you can spar.” He suggests, causing Gai and Lee to sideline themselves and cheer for Sakura. She giggled a little at their antics then became nervous. She was tired. He was a well trained officer. And he was far too handsome for a human being.

She pushed the thoughts away and rolled her shoulders, attempting to alleviate the tension there. She took a defensive stance again and he quirked a brow.

“I understand you’re probably tired from your previous encounter. It lasted almost half an hour after all.” He said, coming at her.

Her mind panicked, but stayed focus and she managed to dodge his first few attacks, though a particularly too-hard-for-just-a-spar kick landed her shin. She did little more than wince, though it hurt greatly. His brow quirked at that. He purposely harmed her and she barely showed it.

“I don’t need an excuse, if I lose, that’s simply how it is.” Sakura affirmed something Tsunade had taught her very well. Failure did not always need to be excused. Sometimes it was okay to simply fail. It just meant she would get better in the future.

“That’s our Sakura-chan!!” She heard Gai’s overzealous voice call.

“Take him down, Sakura-chan!” Lee echoed. She fought back her grin, but Itachi did nothing to hide his own. He was a lot more jovial than she seemed to remember.

Admittedly, he should have expected it. He didn’t though, so when he fist made contact with his jaw, he stumbled back, a shocked look on his face, complimentary to the look of pleasure on Sakura’s face. She took her defensive stance again and leapt much higher than she should have been able to when he attempted to sweep her legs. However, this proved to be the wrong move as he quickly darted to his feet, on her in an instance. She barely had time to gasp as he grabbed her ankle, unable to maneuver midair, and yanked her to the ground. He pinned her under his weight and for a moment he thought he had one.

He belatedly noticed exactly how strong she was. Sasuke wasn’t kidding when he told him about her strength. She wormed her legs between them and easily lifted him using her lower body strength. He managed to wedge an arm backwards to cushion his landing as she essentially tossed him across the room.

He looked properly furious for just a blink of an eye—and she could have sworn his eyes seemed red. Then again, it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Then he smiled and stood up, holding his hands up to stop the barely-fight. She looked at him quizzically.

“You’re more than capable of defending my younger brother.” Itachi confessed. “I’m glad he has such capable friends. Thank you for letting me test you.”

His words hung with her uncomfortably. She knew well he was capable of much more than he was letting on. For some reason, he was holding back, so she didn’t congratulated herself too much when she noticed him cradling his jaw.

“Let me look at that.” Sakura said meekly, approaching him. She almost had to stand on her tip toes. He paused but relented. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” She admitted. “Sometimes I can go overboard.”

“I recall you broke one of Sasuke’s ribs pushing him out of the way of the… you said it was a gang member that stabbed you?” Itachi interacted, thoroughly startling her when he pressed a thumb against her scar. She stood there uncomfortably before taking his face between her hands and popping his jaw back to the exact position it should have been. “You should be a doctor.” He commented dryly.

She gave an equally dry smile. “I am technically a registered nurse, or would be if I put in the floor hours, but my interest lies in the biological aspect of medicine. It’s what I’m going to college for.”

“Hn, I would’ve imagined you doing something more adventurous. For some reason, I always pictured you being an investigator like myself. You should perhaps put in an application at the police force. I hear you’re good at research.” Itachi said lightly. She withdrew from his personal space and rubbing her neck worriedly. Something seemed incredibly off, but she couldn’t name it.

“Always wanted to be a hunter.” She said vaguely, testing the waters. Now his eyes seemed to respond before anything else, but in a contrite manner, he smiled.

“ _Strange girl._ ” He hummed, waving at Gai and Lee. “I’ll be off now. I’m headed out of town. A friend of mine seems to be having some trouble at the airport.” He said, eyeing her meaningfully. Sakura opened her mouth to say something. It looked like it finally clicked in her brain. He simply smiled minutely before his face returned to that expressionless state it always seemed to be. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan.” He waved, turning lightly and walking away like he hadn’t just confessed otherworldly involvements in a very coded, very vague, very infuriating manner.

Then again, it could just be coincidence, right? It had to be. There was no way. Itachi being part of the Akatsuki would be far too convenient an answer for all the mysteries that surrounded the group. No, it had to be something else.

Sakura huffed, realizing she’d been staring at his backside as his form disappeared through a set of double doors. She coughed and peaked at Gai and Lee who were both grinning at her, though she didn’t miss the glint of disappointment in Lee’s face.

“So… I guess that was a victory, but I can’t help feeling like I still lost.” She forced a little laugh.  
  
“Impressive, nonetheless!” Gai shouted, patting her hard on the back.

Sakura smiled shyly now and rubbed a sore spot on her shoulder.

“I know! Let’s all go out on a run to celebrate!” Lee suggested excitedly. Sakura was about to protest, but the look in his eyes was too precious to disappoint so she tightened the laces on her sneakers and grabbed her bag.

“Fine, but only to my house, Lee!” Sakura pointed at him accusingly. “We can run the neighborhood in the morning!”

“It’ll be like I’m walking Sakura-chan home!” Lee yelled, gathering all of this things as well and practically flashing to the door. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her as she walked up to where he was buzzing with excitement. She looked over her shoulder.

“Are you coming, Gai-sensei?” She asked.

“No, you two lovebirds go on ahead! I have a bit of business back at the school!” He informed them with an exaggerated wave. She pursed her lips but nodded and stepped through the door Lee was valiantly holding out of her way.

“Race you!” She decided, taking off at full speed.

“Y-Y—Wait!” Lee stammered, then blushed furiously. “Yes! She’s testing my endurance as a youthful man!” He decided, running after her. “I must be below her standards now that I lost to her!” He lamented in horror and pushed himself to catch up with her head start.

“Don’t be silly, Lee-kun!” She called. “It’s nothing that bad! I just want to see which of us is faster for 2 kilometers!” She panted, quite tired from the back-to-back sparring.

Both of them were panting and doubled over by the time they reached her house. She grinned at him before hugging him tightly, causing him to uncomfortably freeze.

“Whoops, sorry, I know I probably smell terrible and shouldn’t have hugged you without permission—“ Sakura stammered, making small gestures in the air as she tried to apologize for overstepping boundaries. He quickly pulled her into another hug, laughing quietly.

“You just surprised me.” He reassured her, trying to play it cool like he wasn’t hugging the girl of his dreams. He parted after a moment and smiled shyly. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Yeah! See you!” Sakura smiled, cheeks red with something like embarrassment. Tsunade hadn’t gotten home yet. That was lucky. Surely if her mother would have seen that, there would have been relentless teasing. Sakura smiled at the comforting feeling of being home and slipped her shoes off at the door before toeing into her house slippers. She knelt in front of the shrine dedicated to her parents’ memory and told them about her upcoming adventure.

There was a knock at the door that startled Sakura so badly she squeaked. Hand clamped over her mouth now she hesitantly looked through the kitchen window to get a glimpse at who could have been knocking. She may be one of the best hand-to-hand combat fighters in Tokyo but she wasn’t dumb enough to simply open her door when she was home alone. Luckily, she spotted a long blonde ponytail and could safely assume it was Ino. She hopped back and opened the door, smiling fondly as her best friend all but pushed her aside after taking her shoes off.

“Hey Forehead, do you have anything to eat, I’m starving!” Ino whined, walking to her refridgerator and looking through it.

“Shizune left one of her famous pies.” Sakura informed her with a ‘tsk’. “Get your nose out of there pig. Come have pie with me.” She decided, grabbing two plates from the cupboard. “She’s really good at making these. She has it down to an art.”

“Really? What type is it?”

“Just a fruit pie, but it’s super good.” She promised, carving out two slivers and setting one down in front of Ino. She poured them glasses of water as well and stretched her aching muscles as she sat down. She began eating when she caught Ino staring at her. “What?” She said, mouth full.

“What happened.” Ino demanded maternally, gesturing to her neck. Sakura blushed at the implication Ino was trying to make and quickly swallowed her food, coughing a bit in embarrassment as she choked on it. “Well. Chew first!” Ino cackled.

“It was just sparring—not a hickey!” Sakura asserted, touching the tender spot on the junction between her clavicle and neck. She had certainly felt it when Itachi struck her there, originally aiming for the jaw, but she had forgotten about it while they played cat and mouse about this whole hunting business.

“Gosh, but Lee never strikes like that—that looks like it hurts!” Ino said in disbelief.

“Oh, this is from Itachi-san.” She said casually, prodding it and wincing a little. Ino blanked.

“You sparred with Itachi-kun?” Ino breathed, cornflower blue eyes growing wide with suspicion. “You mean Sasuke’s hot older brother who happens to have that panty-dropping stare?!” Ino managed.

Sakura’s cheeks lit up as it seems they shared sentiments. “It wasn’t a big deal, he just wanted to see if I could defend his brother.”

“Not a big deal?! You got to touch him! Ohmygod, did he put you in a hold!? Did he pin you!? God, I would have died of arousal on the spot.” Ino fanned herself, also blushing vividly. Sakura laughed at her friend’s rant and shook her head.

“It’s less appealing when you know you’re going to be all bruised up.” Sakura waved a finger at her. Ino looked like she had stars in her eyes.

“Not at all! That makes it all that kinkier!” Ino determined, slamming her fist on the table. “I envy you!! First you hog Sasuke all to yourself—now his older brother?! Leave some attractive men for me, Forehead!” Ino demanded, though her grin gave her away. Sakura laughed and finished her pie, pleasantly relaxed.

“Say, where are Choji-kun and Shika-kun?” Sakura hummed.

“Oh, Choji’s helping his parents out with their diner, and Shikamaru’s on a bus up to Osaka—okay so listen here—apparently someone busted up Gaara-kun real bad, and assassinated his father—which is no surprise, being Yakuza and all, but like—it’s really weird timing!”

Sakura stared in disbelief, remembering what Greed had said about boy and his father in Osaka. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. No, surely she was just being paranoid about worlds colliding.

“So Shikamaru’s headed up there to help comfort Temari-chan and get them all settled up legally with the will and whatnot—him and his father make a cool legal duo. I hear Gaara-kun is actually relieved about his father’s death. Can’t blame him. That guy was a huge--” Ino informed her nonchalantly. “Hey, are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“I’m good.” She affirmed, then took the opportunity Ino set up for her. “Actually, I think I’m going to go lie down for a bit. Feel free to stay! I’m just going to get some rest. Didn’t sleep so well last night.”

“Oh, yeah…” Ino said, a bit surprised. “Do you need anything? I can run to the store for some aspirin or something?”

“No, I’m good. Just need some rest.” Sakura smiled, kissing Ino on the cheek before heading upstairs. “A shower and rest.”  
  
The hot water felt amazing on her back, and Sakura was profoundly grateful that Tsunade had just changed the water heater, and they had a near limitless supply. She stood there for a long while before she heard her bedroom door creak open.

She suspected Ino, but could never be too careful. Her caution paid off. The foot falls pacing around her room were far too heavy to be Ino’s slight frame. She hesitated and left the water on as she quietly stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and tucked it into itself so that both hands were free. She strained to hear anything but it fell silent outside of the bathroom door. She got down on her knees as quietly as possible and peaked under the gap of the door. There was no one’s feet that she could see, though she wasn’t sure if they were even standing. They could be seated at her desk or on her bed or just out of her line of vision. She bit her lip as she carefully cracked the door and peered out.

Nobody.

She opened it a bit more and looked in her blind spots.

Nobody.

Still using great caution, she checked her closet, under her bed, the hallway.

Nobody.

It wasn’t the first time she thought maybe something paranormal latched onto her, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time she thought it, but she pushed the notion away and turned off the shower. Worry overcame her, though she tried to ignore it. Her pajamas felt amazing on her freshly showered skin, and soon that paranoia she had just had seeped away. She settled down in bed and grabbed her laptop. While she did want to rest, she had work to do.

Upon request, Hiashi had sent her a map of the estate they were having an issue with, as well as photographs of every single entrance, exit, room, closet, garden, and office. It was expansive and would prove to be a challenge, but Sakura didn’t mind.

Briefly, she remembered what Konan had said about luring it out with human blood and she mentally groaned at the idea, but she would definitely need to bring some. She couldn’t just walk into her mother’s hospital and lift some from the storage facility there. She looked down at her palm and cursed at herself. She could ask one of the boys to get the blood, but she didn’t want to deal with Naruto’s whining, and Sasuke’s shady means of procuring said blood.

Sakura stood up and walked over to the shelf, grabbing a jar full of paper stars she used to fold when she had a slight fascination with origami. She emptied them onto her desk and grabbed a knife she had kept in her desk. Her face contorted with disgust as she sliced the heel of her palm and held it over the empty jar. She had cut just deep enough to where she wouldn’t need stitches, but it would take long for the blood to rush out.

She felt woozy, more at the thought of what she had just done. It was better this way, though. So that no one had to open themselves up in front of the hypothetical jikininki. She looked disgusted with herself and quickly wrapped her hand up. If anyone asked besides Naruto and Sasuke, she sliced her hand on a knife while cutting pie. She put the lid tightly on the jar and hid it under her floor boards, wondering about the supernatural consequences of doing such a thing. She brushed it off. The only house spirits that bothered her were quiet and benevolent, though they never showed their faces.

Sakura sat back down on her mattress and continued to review the map of the estate. It was expansive and sickeningly luxurious. Though, she wondered why Hinata hated going home so much. She had mentioned something about an arranged marriage, but that wouldn’t happen. Right? Were those still a thing? Sakura grimaced as she pushed the thought away and opened up the forum’s main page.

It seemed like Shark was still trying to locate that Red Cap and having no luck, so he opened a thread to gather tips. She wished she could contribute, but her expertise lied with the exactly 6 Japanese-oriented yokai she had dealt with previously. She giggled when she saw a particular thread that Naruto and Priest started, some sort of petition for Angel and God to stop bothering them about when they rename the chatroom.

[cherry_blossom7 logged in]  
[puppet_master]: Good evening, Cherry. You’re on sooner than usual.  
[cherry_blossom7]: haha!! >u< yup! i had some time to kill and so i figured to do some more research  
[puppet_master]: That’s wise. Anything I can assist you with?

Sakura giggled nervously. She wasn’t normally that flustered, but Puppet was such an elusive person, that him being so open and forward was a refreshing surprise.

[puppet_master]: Cherry?  
[cherry_blossom7]: yes! sorry haha;;. do you know anything about jikininki?   
[puppet_master]: Not me, but I know someone who does. Just a moment.   
[cherry_blossom7]: thank you!!  
[art_is_a_bang logged in]  
[art_is_a_bang]: hey hey hey, cherry  
[cherry_blossom7]: hello, art!  
[art_is_a_bang]: please, call me Dei.  
[cherry_blossom7]: how informal. :) alright, dei  
[art_is_a_bang]: you wanted to know about those ugly ass bastard jikininkis?   
[cherry_bloddom7]: yes! if you have any information id really appreciate it!  
[art_is_a_bang]: nude photographs  
[puppet_master]: Don’t sexually harass Cherry, she’s still in high school, you lecherous twit.   
[art_is_a_bang]: but shes legal, yea?  
[cherry_blossom7]: i don’t want your help anymore, dei.  
[puppet_master]: I wouldn’t either, if I were you Cherry. Perhaps when you meet with Greed he can provide a few pointers. Really, he is kind though he prefers for that not to get out.  
[art_is_a_bang]: don’t listen to him greed’s totally into school girls hell probably try something gross  
[puppet_master]: You’re one to talk. I’ve seen your browser history.  
[art_is_a_bang]: your right. greed’s probably too old to get it up anyway, yea?

Sakura made a face, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

[puppet_master]: You made her uncomfortable.

Sakura stared now, clearing her throat nervously and looking around. That was incredibly creepy. The comment Dei made about Greed’s age also discomforted her. Sure she was trained well in all sort of hand-to-hand combat types, but against someone with weapons, she wasn’t exactly stellar. On top of it all, she had heard so many horror stories about young women meeting old men on the internet who ended up murdering them. Surely, though, Angel wouldn't send her to such doom? No, if Angel was willing to speak of his character, than she believed her.

[puppet_master]: Greed won’t try anything with you, I can promise that.  
[cherry_blossom7]: i wasn’t worried! haha  
[greed logged in]  
[art_is_a_bang]: speak of the devil  
[greed]: Why would you discuss me?  
[puppet_master]: He is convinced you were going to try and corner Miss Cherry.  
[greed]: He speaks of things he shouldn’t.  
[cherry_blossom7]: i am not particularly fond of this subject, can we please return to the issue at hand?  
[puppet_master]: The blame lies with “Dei” so yes.  
[cherry_blossom7]: great!   
[greed]: While I haven’t dealt with one directly, I know that Jikininki like to hide in walls. Ask the patriarch if there are any crawl spaces you could get access to. I’ll sell you some blood to use to lure it. I’d suggest luring into a wooden box or barrel or some other small space doused in kerosene, then lighting it on fire.  
[fox_fire99 logged in]  
[fox_fire99]: yooo!!!  
[art_is_a_bang]: fox!! answer me!! cherry is pretty, yea?  
[cherry_blossom7]: stop it! >:(  
[fox_fire99]: hell yeah. pretty scary. leave her alone, lech!   
[greed]: Get your head out of your ass, Art.   
[art_is_a_bang]: whatever, im just being flirtatious   
[greed]: Flirting and Harassing are two very different things.   
[cherry_blossom7]: my honor is well defended, let’s get back to the subject.  
[greed]: Hah.  
[fox_fire99]: what r we talking about?!  
[cherry_blossom7]: the jikininki.   
[fox_fire99]: i am so excited to go on this hunt  
[puppet_master]: It’s a thrilling beast to face. Though, should you feel at any moment like you can’t handle it, withdraw and contact one of us.

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. He was so condescending. What made this guy think they couldn’t handle it? Jikininkis didn’t look like anything worse than that unruly Rokurokubi that stabbed Sakura—plus they would have guns!

[puppet_master]: Cherry, I’ve sent you my contact information.   
[cherry_blossom7]: oh!! thank you   
[fox_fire99]: no fair! it took me years for you to text me cherry!  
[cherry_blossom7]: don’t make things weird, fox. it’s business.  
[puppet_master]: Fox, you would do well to mind your own business and not involve others in your little crush.  
[hawk44 logged in]  
[art_is_a_bang]: and the rest of the love triangle is here.  
[hawk44]: Stop.  
[cherry_blossom7]: Stop.  
[fox_fire99]: whats the big deal! u guys r always messin with me!  
[puppet_master]: You make it easy.

Naruto growled at his computer screen.

[hawk44]: Cherry, did you get any new advice about the Jikininki?  
[cherry_blossom7]: yep! plenty! got it all written down, so im gonna log out now. night everyone!  
[puppet_master]: Goodnight, Cherry.

Sakura was struck with a heavy feeling of déjà vu, but shook it off as she logged out, getting two good night texts from Naruto and Sasuke. She smiled and plopped down in bed, ignoring the feeling of being watched. It was probably some sort of house spirit.

Just up the street, Naruto logged off, muttering under his breath about creepy internet stalkers. He worried about Sakura meeting up with one of them, but he knew if he said something she’d make sure he couldn’t follow her. Yes, he’d follow her while doing his best not to rouse suspicion! He got up from his desk and wandered into his small kitchen to make his lunch and breakfast for tomorrow. He hated morning so much that he was essentially useless after waking up.

He stretched out and got to work. He could still hear Iruka-sensei’s voice telling him how to prepare simple meals in the silence of his empty apartment. His normally exuberant smile was replaced by a deep frown. He scratched at the lines on his cheeks as he spotted them in his reflection on the dark window.

In many ways, he wished he could go back in time and change things, but it was far too late. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he curiously grabbed it. Nobody should be calling him at this hour.

(Call from Iruka)

“Hello?” Naruto said sheepishly, before cleaing his throat. “H-Hey! How’s it goin’, Iruka-sensei?!”

A chuckle came across the line. “Hey, Naruto-kun. I was just sitting here and I thought to call you! I hear you got all A’s in your classes! Sakura-chan has been keeping you in line, huh?”

Naruto’s cheeks heated up a bit. “Actually, it was Sasuke-kun.” He said after a moment. “He’s been tutoring me.”

“Oooh, I recognize that tone~” Iruka hummed.

“No you don’t! You’re going senile!” Naruto hissed, becoming easily flustered.

“Naruto-kun, are you going to take Uchiha as your last name, or is he going to be Sasuke Uzumaki?!” Iruka teased.

“Neither!” Naruto whined, squishing his face with his spare hand. Iruka was chortling across the line.

“Okay, okay. Have you been eating well? I can always send some vegetables!” Iruka offered.

“I’ve been eating well.” Naruto lied with a grin.

“Of course. So I’ll send some groceries to you.” Iruka chuckled.

“Fine, fine.” Naruto groaned, but smiled. Iruka was always watching out for him. “Hey! How’s the new school?”

“Pretty boring without you three getting in trouble all the time. Sometimes when someone knocks on my door I expect you to wander in, Sakura-chan sulking behind you, and Sasuke-kun pretending he didn’t care.” Iruka sighed.

“Ha! I haven’t been getting in trouble.” Naruto informed him proudly.

“Good!” Iruka’s smile was audible. “Say, how are you faring all on your own?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head, grimacing. He hated being alone, but he had been alone almost his entire childhood. “Pretty good!” He said. “Yeah, but it’s been three years now, so I’m used to living alone. Just me and Menma.” He hummed, idly trying to beckon his cat to come near him. Menma did not. In fact he just glared and flicked his tail in dismissal. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the cat.

“I remember when you first brought that cat to the house!” Iruka laughed. “It didn’t like me.”  
  
“Menma doesn’t like much of anybody. Well, except Sasuke-kun.” He huffed, Menma perking up at the name. “Of course you’d pay attention to me when it’s about that asshole!” He hissed at his cat, who laid back down when he realized Sasuke was in fact, not there.

“Well, I’m gonna go to bed now. Goodnight, Naruto! Remember, I’m only a train away if you ever need me.” Iruka chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

“Bye-bye!” Naruto called, hanging up and staring down at the photo that popped up on his phone when Iruka had called. It was a picture of the two of them at his official emancipation from foster care. He felt tears prick his eyes and he sat down on the small, shitty couch one of his neighbors had thrown out. Menma sat in his lap when he realized Naruto was crying and pawed at him lightly.

Naruto smiled at his cat and scratched his ears lightly.

“I can always count on you.” He hummed, then tilted his head back. He was honestly happy about going to live with Jiraiya-sensei during the apprenticeship. He hated living alone, but he couldn’t stand how much of a burden he had been to Iruka, so when he was old enough he was legally emancipated. Naruto continued to stroke his cat until eventually Menma fell asleep mid-nuzzle.

“Say, your fur’s getting pretty thick again. I think it’s time to shave you.” Naruto muttered. His cat had always been something of a mystery to him. He had just shown up one day and wouldn’t leave no matter what Naruto tried. He almost looked like a fox, so much so that Naruto had decided to use it as his screen name on just about every social media platform. Menma hissed at the suggestion and jumped away.

Naruto smiled and shrugged, slowly rising from the sofa to finally head to bed. He was getting much better about his sleep schedule. It was something he had to learn on his own. Bouncing around the foster care system had messed it up for him originally, but he was coming to learn that going to bed early instead of sneaking out to head to Iruka-sensei’s house was giving him more energy during the day. Plus, he didn’t have to sneak out anymore, so half of the fun was gone.

He pulled his jacket and shirt off, not bothering to change pants since he would shower in the morning. He climbed into his bed and stretched out languidly, staring up at his ceiling. Menma jumped on the bed and curled up on ‘his’ pillow after dragging a bit of the blanket to cover himself up with. He was such a weird cat.

It seemed like morning came far too soon.


	3. Fair-Trade Virgin Blood

[greed started a new chat!]  
[cherry_blossom7]: what’s up?  
[greed]: I just wanted to remind you of our meeting Tuesday. Do you have the money for the delivery fee? I have a payment program if you do not, with only 26% interest that occurs weekly.   
[cherry_blossom7]: lol no we’ve got the money. nice try though!  
[greed]: Well then, darling. Since that’s settled, I’ll see you Tuesday at 1:30 sharp.  
[cherry_blossom7]: hey quick question!  
[greed]: What is it?  
[cherry_blossom7]: is there a reason a few of the people tend to flirt? are they messing with me?  
[greed]: Ah. I was wondering when that would come up. They’re more base creatures. It seems that you’ve charmed them. Are you a witch?  
[cherry_blossom7]: depends who you ask lol but no, not a witch. just super confused.  
[greed]: I imagine.  
[greed left the chat!]

Sakura huffed. What was that supposed to mean? She rubbed her cheeks and wondered what he meant by witch? He didn’t actually suspect that, did he? She groaned and stretched. It was a lazy Saturday. Lee and Gai-sensei were out of town for a tournament she had to drop out of to rest up for her trip. She stared at the blank chat room. Apparently everyone was currently out.

She stared at the floor boards where she now had two jars of blood. She sighed and sat around for a moment more before deciding to head to another district and waste the day. She needed to relax. With the tension she was feeling, she wouldn’t be safe on the mission.

Humming idly to herself, she sent the boys a text for them to get dressed and meet her at her house. She fished through her closet, not wanting to particularly wear any of her workout clothes again. She grimaced and fished through it. She really needed to invest in other styles.

“Ah. Old faithful.” She remarked as she pulled a cotton tee shirt and a plain skirt out. Still, ever paranoid, she wore a pair of bike shorts underneath the skirt and tugged her socks on. She was never one to get dressed up like Ino to go wandering through the city, but she grew tired of her every day garb.

She looked back at her phone screen, getting two identical ‘ok’s from the boys. She pulled a jacket on and grabbed her keys and wallet. She gave one last passing glance to her room, trying to figure out if she forgot anything. Determining she didn’t, she trotted downstairs and smiled widely at Tsunade who had somehow managed to get the day off. She noticed her mother had gotten a bit dressed up, but was wedged under the sink, attempting to fix a leak.

“You’re going out to see Jiraiya-san?” Sakura grinned. Tsunade’s cheeks lit up for a moment but she made a face like a petulant child.

“It’s not how you think. I’m helping him do research for one of his books. It takes place in a hospital.” She informed her daughter with a pointed glare, but gave her a tight hug as she noticed Sakura’s direction was the door. “Where are you three headed today?”

“How do you know it’s us three?” Sakura asked with amusement.

“It’s always you three.” Tsunade mumbled, looking out and seeing Naruto’s bright blonde hair first. “Anywhere dangerous?”

“Nope! Just Shimokita. The most dangerous thing there are the hipsters from overseas.” Sakura giggled.

“Right, look out for those.” Tsunade chided and returned to trying to fix a leak underneath the sink. “Damnit!” She hissed as her attempt at blocking the spray of water failed.

“If you tape it up, I’ll handle it tonight when I get back!” Sakura offered.

“I would be lost without you.” Tsunade mumbled, quickly agreeing and slapping duct tape over it. “A fix my grandfather would appreciate.”

“Oh! How is Hashirama-sama?” Sakura said, ignoring the impatient knocking at the door.

“He’s doing well… he’s moving though—we can talk later about it.” Tsunade nodded, arms crossed. She loved her daughter's friends as if they were her own sons, but that impatient knocking of Naruto's was grating her nerves. “Your friends are waiting.”

“Love you!” Sakura called, slipping her flats on and padding out of the house.

“Took you long enough.” Sasuke grumbled.

“Oh hush.” Sakura sighed, trotting out in front of them.

“Where are we going, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked.

“Shimokita!” Sakura said with determination. “We’re going to that Pearl café.”

“Ah. Looking for more advice about the Jikininki? I thought this was a day you were going to relax?” Sasuke questioned as they crossed into the train station.

“Yes.” Sakura grimaced. “I just want to know if anyone had faced one before. Get some advice.”

“How much advice do we need? We’ve gotten so much!” Naruto protested, but didn’t mind that particular café. There was always a musician playing there, day or night and it had a nice vibe to it.

“This thing eats dead bodies, I think it would be good to have enough dirt on it to avoid certain death.” Sakura said, boarding the train and relinquishing her seat to Naruto who looked unusually exhausted.

Naruto kept his eyes on the blur of the outside world. The train wasn’t as crowded as it was in the morning and evenings, but still had quite a few passengers. He glanced up at Sasuke, staring as the boy’s back was turned. He let out a slight sigh, remembering his phone call with Iruka. It was odd how he had feelings for the both of them but only the guts to admit the feelings for Sakura, which were significantly less invested than those for Sasuke.

“Earth to Naruto.” Sakura hummed, waving a hand in front of his face and startling him. “I asked if Menma got you?” She said and pointed down to the scratch marks all over his arms.

“Yeah, his fur was getting too thick so I gave him a trim. He fought me after I did it, the sneaky bastard.” Naruto idly scratched at a few of the scores.

“Naruto-kun, I’m almost completely certain Menma isn’t a cat. He is most certainly like a … fox with dwarfism and melanism.” Sakura suggested. “No cat grows that much fur, or has such a disdain for cat things. Plus, only evil things could adore Sasuke-kun the way that thing does.”

Sasuke gave her a look. “Naruto’s cat didn’t like me so much last time.”

“You frightened him.” Naruto defended. “You can’t sneak up on a cat and expect it to not lash out.”

“Ah, we’re here.” Sakura nudged her friends and they switched from train to bus, which would take them to the part of the district they were headed, rather than footing it.

It wasn’t long before they reached the café. It was operated by a incognito ningyo, who had a kejoro lover to run the bar. They had both taken more ‘regular’ faces, particularly the ningyo managing legs and the kejoro conjuring up a face. This wasn’t uncommon. Glamors were often used by non-humans to ensure that coexistence went a bit more smoothly.

“Ahhh, it’s Sasuke-kun,” The kejoro purred, leaning on the counter and waving eagerly. “By the gods, I love Uchihas. Look at that face.”

“Good evening, Iyuki-chan.” Sasuke smiled politely, trying not to take her fascination in stride. Iyuki leaned forward when he was in reach and plucked a stray black feather from his shoulder, looking at it like it was the greatest treasure.

“Thank you for the gift!” She hummed, peeking out from the long curtain of black hair.

“Oh,” Sasuke said, looking puzzled. Perhaps it had fallen on him as they traveled and he didn’t notice. “No problem, I guess.”

“What can I get for you three?” The Ningyo asked, primarily looking at Sakura, with hungrier eyes than the girl would like to recognize.

“It’s good to see you well, Aya-san.” Sakura bowed lightly and then looked up thoughtfully. “A Tall Hojicha Tea Latte, please?” Sakura asked, digging through her wallet for her card.

“Absolutely.” Aya smiled lightly and gestured for Iyuki to stop staring at the boy and get to work. “The problem with hiring teenagers. She should’ve outgrown that 80 years ago.” Aya grimaced, addressing Naruto and Sasuke now that Sakura had picked them out a small table near the window. “Your orders?”  
“Large Iced Soy Latte, with… as many shots of espresso as you are allowed to put in it.” Sasuke hummed, swiping his card at the display and choosing to leave a tip.

“None for me,” Naruto laughed, a small tinge of embarrassment. Sasuke gave him a look, silently communicating that he would get something and Sasuke would pay for it and there was absolutely no room for argument. Naruto wilted a bit, smiling shyly. “I guess a small green tea?”

“Coming right up.” Aya said pleasantly, and shooed them out of the way so the other customers in line could order.

Naruto and Sasuke joined Sakura at the table, not realizing there was another person sitting and speaking with her for a very long moment. When they did, they paused. He looked eerily familiar to the both of them.

“It’s a shame about your grandfather moving away,” The large man said with a tender smile, gently gripping Sakura’s hand and kissing her knuckles. “Leaving such a beautiful granddaughter behind. Though, you don’t look like a Senju. Did you marry into the family?”

“O-Oh, no, I’m adopted—b-by Tsunade.” Sakura hummed, face completely red from the attention of the older man. She smiled pleasantly. “Y-You look familiar, you were a friend of Hashirama-sama’s, right?”

“Yes, we were childhood friends.” He said with a sly smile before catching Sasuke’s stunned gaze out of the corner of his eye. “Ah, my nephew. I barely recognized you. You’ve gotten quite tall.”

Sasuke stood quickly and bowed deeply out of respect to their clan's patriarch. Sakura looked between Sasuke and Madara before remembering who this was. She swallowed her fear and did her best to put on a smile, though the man was beginning to make her uncomfortable.

“I usually send one of my interns here, but we won’t have one for three months, and I can’t ask my poor secretary to get my coffee. She’d have a fit. With women, it’s easier to pick your battles.” He shrugged. “But this is the only place I’d even consider getting coffee from.”

“Ah! Madara-sama—I’m sorry, it’s been so long I forgot what you looked like.” Sakura admitted, looking defeated.

“Yes, Hashirama was not very keen on introducing me to his family.” He quirked a brow. “I expect it was that pesky little brother of his behind it, though.” He took another sip of coffee before standing. “Well, if the office hasn’t burned down without me, it may soon, so I must part.”

“It was lovely to meet you.” Sakura said, shaking his hand firmly and surprising him a bit. The women he surrounded himself with seldom had such a commanding hand shake, and in his line of work, how one shook hands was perhaps the most telling thing about their personality. He took note.

“I’ll be seeing you, Sakura-chan. You as well, Sasuke.” He patted the younger Uchiha on the head before leaving.

Sasuke glared deeply at Sakura who still hadn’t managed to de-fluster herself.

“You could’ve warned me!” He tried his best to sound intimidating, but his voice slipped a bit and it merely sounded desperate.

“How was I supposed to know?!” Sakura sounded just as frightened.

“How do you forget a face like that? Or a mane like that? The man looks like a damn Tengu with all that hair.” Naruto laughed.

Sakura pressed a hand to her cheek, thanking Iyuki as she brought them their drinks.

“Was that Madara-san?” Iyuki sounded disappointed.

“Yep. And these two got their panties all twisted over him.” Naruto confirmed. “Sakura-chan, he’s too old for you.”

“Naruto!” Sakura hissed. “It isn’t like that—besides, I know! He’s probably like… 100!”

It took Iyuki quite a bit to resist letting them know Madara was liking going to be near a thousand soon. She would never out any of her customers, but she found it morbidly surprising and humorous that Sasuke didn’t realize it.

“Doesn’t make him any less handsome.” Iyuki teased before sauntering away, long black hair barely dragging the ground behind her.

Sakura sighed deeply when the two gave her looks.

“Alright, let’s clear something up.” She said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know what has changed, but you two, and many others are far too interested in my love life. It was cute at first but now it’s downright annoying.”

“I blame the Akatsuki.” Sasuke nodded.

“It’s Puppet’s fault.” Naruto confirmed.

“Let’s not even bring that up, you know Greed accused me of being a witch? Who does that? If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s stuck in the dark ages.” Sakura pouted, causing the two to stare. “I’m not a witch!”

“There wouldn’t be any shame if you are, I mean—remember that priestess gone witch we dealt with 3 years ago? She faced redemption and now she’s super nice!” Naruto defended, sipping the tea sheepishly.

“Yes, but it’s rude to assume what someone is.” Sakura huffed, rubbing her arm and finishing her drink. “Especially if said accusation arises from the suspicion that you used a spell or hex or something to seduce people across the internet! I mean, just… _why?_ ”

Naruto couldn’t hold back his snicker but Sasuke elbowed him.

“I can’t believe my Uncle comes here. You don’t think he’s a hunter, do you?” Sasuke asked worriedly.

“Nah, that man’s got a huge stick up his ass.” Naruto waved dismissively. “Besides, wouldn’t he be too busy to hunt?”

“That’s true.” Sasuke sighed. “Not the stick up the ass part, but the too busy part.”

“I think he may just like the coffee. It is the best tasting coffee in Tokyo after all. I'd be more surprised if he went to that American coffee shop closer to his office.” Sakura shrugged, making eye contact with Naruto who was staring just a bit too long at her neck. She remembered the flowering bruise.

“I didn’t think Lee-kun would hit hard enough to bruise during training.” Naruto said after a moment, pointing to his own neck to indicate the spot on hers. She instinctively covered it with her hand. It had bruised almost pleasantly, a bright blue and purple color.

“Actually, Itachi-san did this.” She said after a moment, but looked to Sasuke to see how he we react. She was not disappointed. “He wanted to test my abilities. Something about defending you, Sasuke-kun.”

“That explains the giant bruise on Itachi’s jaw.” Sasuke shrugged after a moment of surprise. “Nice hit.”

“Thanks!” Sakura preened. She finished her drink and looked around. No one looked especially friendly enough to approach and just open conversation asking for advice, so she decided with plan B. After all, if she didn't already know they were hunters it was best to assume they were not. It wasn't a common line of work. “We’re going shopping.” She informed the other two who immediately groaned.

“Sasuke-kun is terrible to go shopping with, though!” Naruto said, causing Sasuke to stammer and look at the two in confusion.

“Wait, I thought we were about to complain about Sakura taking too long to try on clothes.” He muttered, pointing at her, then Naruto. “Or about you touching absolutely everything in the store. Don't turn this on me. I'm a model customer.”

“Ha!” Sakura huffed. “I’m not the only annoying one. Anyway, let’s go. Getting over to Harajuku is going to be a mess. I still haven’t gotten anything for Ino as a house warming gift so I guess I’ll get her more clothes.” She shrugged.

“Alright, alright. Does it _have_ to be Harajuku, though?” Sasuke asked, scratching his head. That was the one district he couldn't stand.

“No, but neither of you bled into jars or this upcoming hunt, so I’m calling the shots today.” She informed them, showing them her palm. She’d get some mileage out of that one.

Both of them grimaced and looked at each other but stood and followed her. She was, in a way, the groups unspoken leader. Though Sasuke was smart, Sakura was intuitive and clever, and picked up on things the two of them over looked. That wasn’t to say those two didn’t pull their weights, but when it came to making decisions, they left that in Sakura’s hands. Things were easier that way.

Their day went unusually smooth. Naruto had first been apprehensive as this week he didn’t have any spare money, but without a word between them, Sasuke knew. Sasuke knew that Naruto was struggling, but never spoke of it. He simply did things to benefit his friend. Naruto worked free-lance jobs when he got the chance, unable to find a steady one as a high school student, and he was living off a combination of welfare and his portion of the money they got from hunts.

Naruto didn’t know it, but the mysterious person paying the phone bill was Sasuke. After discovering Naruto had emancipated himself from the foster system and had no way of reaching him, Sasuke dropped a phone in his mail box and kept up with the bill after that. He had always taken care of Naruto in small ways like that, ever since they met as 1st years.

The three of them went their separate ways. Sasuke’s head was full of thoughts of the day. Though he played it off, he very much enjoyed the time spent together with Naruto and Sakura. He smiled lightly and fished around for his key.

The house was quiet as it normally was. Itachi still wasn’t home. Something about having to go out of town. His father hadn’t gotten home yet and his mother was tidying up the kitchen. He frowned lightly and casually walked in, trying to think of something to say. He detested the way his father would essentially throw a fit whenever Mikoto wanted to get a job. She was sick of being cooped up in the house, and Sasuke could tell.

“Good evening, mom.” He smiled and rolled his sleeves up, joining her at the sink to help her with the dishes. She jumped and quickly hugged him with one arm before returning to her duty.

“Welcome home. Did you go out with your friends today?” She asked, visibly relaxing in her son’s presence. He was kinder than most of the Uchiha and she knew that was largely Itachi’s doing. Itachi had fought hard to keep Sasuke far away from clan business.

“Yes. Naruto and Sakura dragged me through the tourist and shopping districts.” He tried to sound uninterested, but his mother saw through it. She smiled.

“I haven’t made dinner yet. Is there something you would like?” She asked. “Itachi won’t be home tonight, and your father won’t be home until late.”

Sasuke pondered it for a moment. “Let’s go out to eat.” He suggested, smiling lightly when his mother’s face lit up.

“O-Oh—sure! Yes! _Okay!_ ” Mikoto practically dropped the dishes, running through the hallway. “Just let me change out of my pajamas!”

Sasuke smiled widely when she couldn’t see, shaking his head lightly. Growing up, their mother had been strict and assertive, but now that both of her sons were practically grown, she was more like a goofy older sister. It was fascinating how the relationship of a mother and her son could change so much. She ran back out, purse tucked under her arm and trying to put on her shoes while walking. Sasuke couldn’t help his laugh.

“Where did you want to go to eat?” She asked.

“How about that seafood restaurant a neighborhood over? It won’t be a long walk.” He promised.

“Anything is fine with me, dear.” She smiled at Sasuke, just a tad shorter than him. “You’ve grown up to be so tall. I don’t know where you get it from.” She laughed. “Both you and Itachi are so tall.”

Sasuke shrugged a little, but he couldn’t help his grin. She was always doting on how he had grown, and even when he played it off, he loved it. As a child he didn’t appreciate it, and even shunned it, but after making friends with Naruto, a child of the system, and Sakura, a child who recently lost her parents, he grew to appreciate everything his mother did.

“I forgot to thank you for washing my uniforms.” Sasuke remarked, idly pointing at the air.

“I don’t do it for the thanks.” Mikoto informed him with a laugh. “Oh—is this the place?”

It was a rather small looking blue building with a shrimp painted poorly on the side.

“It doesn’t look like much, but they have the best sushi.” Sasuke assured her and held the door for her.

* * *

 

Sakura’s heart was pounding in her ears. She had just caught Naruto following her and had to send him away, calling in Sasuke to drag him off. She exited the train and looked around the Naka-Meguro station. It was pretty busy, and she had to stand on her tip toes as she walked around, blending with the crowd in that sense, but essentially looking for… “Tall and dark”. There were many that fit that description almost perfectly, but someone caught her eye above the rest.

His eyes were a bright, almost neon green but blood shot. His hair was long and straight like it had been raining, his skin was darker, almost brown but not quite. She stared for a moment and when he made eye contact he nodded for her to approach him. He was wearing a medical mask as though he were sick. She couldn’t have been more apprehensive if she tried.

She had to take two steps for every one of his, and inwardly this annoyed her more than it should have. He looked all business, just as he came across.

‘Oh god, what if this isn’t him. What if this is some _psycho_ I just _happened_ to make eye contact with?’ Sakura bored holes in the back of his head with her intense stare. Eventually he glanced back at her, one brow quirked in a question. He ignored it, shaking his head lightly. That’s when she realized her face was scrunched up with such a heated focus that she felt embarrassed. He seemed to brush it off.

She felt a card slip into her hand and she looked down at it. It was an all-black business card. Matte all over except glossy on one patch of black in the corner, that almost resembled a cloud. It had no surname, but she could clearly read ‘Kakuzu’ both in Romaji and Kanji. She pocketed it and hesitantly snuck a picture of the back of his head with her phone and sent it to Sasuke. Just in case.

Belatedly, she looked down at her hand, then his and wondered how the hell he handed it to her without her noticing. She tilted her head and suddenly decided to hold onto her wallet just a bit tighter. Perhaps he was a talented pick pocket.

Sakura followed him for about two blocks before he finally stopped at a restaurant. It was dark, and not the type of place Sakura would usually frequent.

(Sasuke Uchiha) Be safe.   
  
She followed him to a back room, watching as he just held his hand up in greeting the waitress. He held the door for her and her face did not do well at containing her surprise.

“I’m a criminal, but I can still be a gentleman.” He leaned in and whispered, no hint of mirth, joviality or any glint of humor in his eyes. He was serious. She became a bit more uncomfortable. Worse still, she had just entered a small back room with a only a table and two chairs at a dingy restaurant with a man she only met before on the internet—who just confessed he was a criminal. “Sit. I won’t rob you blind. Angel would kill me.”

“Ah, I was worried for a moment you weren’t who I was looking for.” Sakura laughed nervously and sat down as he pulled the chair out for her.

“Yes, I can practically smell your fear.” He noted, still no sense of humor to be detected. He pulled the first gun out of his pants pocket and set it on the table. Sakura eyed it warily. He watched her reaction. “You’ve never even touched one before, have you?” As she shook her head, he let out a small sigh. “You’re lucky you’re pretty then, or I wouldn’t waste my breath on you.”   
  
“How flattering.” She said flatly, not caring for his tone or comment. She swore she could hear a small huff of amusement, one she would have more expected from someone like Itachi.

“This is where you hold it.” He pointed. “This is the trigger. You pull it and a bullet comes out of this end.”

“I’m new, not stupid.” Sakura narrowed her eyes after detecting he was either trying to insult her or make light of the situation.

“Right.” He said picking it up. She couldn’t help the way her back straightened a bit, as if hackles were rising. He quirked a brow again. “Relax, it’s not even loaded.” He handed it to her and she gingerly took it, afraid to touch anywhere near the trigger, or point it near Kakuzu. She kept the nose down and looked at him again.

“That’s a handgun, it’s a semi-automatic. Semi-automatic means that the energy created by firing it pulls the next cartridge for firing. So in other words, every time you pull that trigger, if it is loaded, a bullet will come out.” He explained and she listened intently, less concerned that he was going to shoot her now. His eyes fell to her for a moment too long. Something in his brain seemed to click, though for the life of her she couldn’t tell what it was. “This particular one is a Remington, M1911.” He pulled a twin to it and opened up the magazine. He pointed to a bullet.

“You said they weren’t loaded.” Sakura eyed him again.

“I lied. Don’t be surprised.” Kakuzu said blankly before continuing. “That’s not a hollow tip like the police force use. It’s a specially crafted, .45 auto. I make them myself. The ones I’m giving you today contain virgin’s blood, so if you use them on a Jikininki it’ll do well to distract it.”

“Wait.” Sakura held her hand up, eyes darting to her bandage. Then she grimaced. “What’s the difference between virgin’s blood and … not? I collected blood from myself, are they not going to like it?”

“Are you a virgin?” Kakuzu couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering.

There was a pregnant pause.

“Yes. Will my blood still work to bait it?” She asked.

“Yes, it will work much better since you are a virgin. Your blood and scent are more attractive to monsters.” He breathed, now realizing why she had caused him to waver ever so slightly.

“Well,” She clicked her tongue, suddenly much more self-conscious. “Okay, but you said it will distract it. How so?”

“It itches.” He said, mostly from experience. “Virgin’s blood itches like holy water.”

“Ah.” She could only imagine an itchy bullet wound. Her mouth turned upwards in a cynical grin. “Alright, so how do I fire it?”

“First, for the safety of that idiot Fox,”

She couldn’t stop the smirk that manifested at his words. She looked down at the gun. She’d never actually shoot anyone who didn’t deserve it, but she was amused that they thought her fury was that malicious.

“Until you’ve made the decision to shoot, keep your finger outside the trigger guard.” He instructed. He didn’t have to show her where that was. Common sense told her it was the loop around the trigger. “And don’t point it anywhere you don’t plan to shoot. Whether you know it’s loaded or not. Act like it is loaded.” He paused. “Come here.”

Sakura hesitated but stood up, rounding the table and standing at his side. He took her hand and wrapped it correctly around the gun with her dominant hand.

His hands were unusually cold.

“Now use your left hand to wrap around your right. Good, just like that.” He hummed. “This will prevent injury from recoil, which this gun has a bit of.” She jolted when his hand came up and pinched her bicep. “Though it looks like that won’t be an issue for you.”

“Don’t do that.” Sakura asserted. She was almost certain he was grinning at her under that damn mask.

“Yes, ma’am.” He said, though she couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. He was infuriatingly difficult to read. “Alright, now stand with your feet a shoulder length apart. Good. Raise the gun towards the clock on the wall.”

Sakura hesitated but did just that.

“You’re not going to have good aim without proper training. Make sure you are almost point blank with the Jikininki. It’s going to be loud, just like in the movies.” Kakuzu informed her.

“I expected as much.” Sakura stared down the barrel of the gun, generally beginning to feel more comfortable with it. Kakuzu took a moment to watch her with an unreadable expression.

“When you do pull the trigger, make sure you pull it all the way, not half way or hesitantly. You have to be certain of your actions.” Kakuzu said, standing up behind her. She paused and looked back at him. He took a step towards her, causing her to falter. He didn’t let her falter far as he grabbed both of her upper arms, putting her in the correct firing position. “Remember how this feels and mimick it when it comes time to shoot.” He said, oddly not letting go just yet.

Despite his hands and wrists being cold, his breath was warm. It made the hairs on her neck stand up and she tried to ignore that feeling.

“Look through the sights. Line it up with the twelve on the clock.”

The press of his torso against her back was far more distracting than she’d like to admit. Then again, this was about as intimate as she had ever gotten with someone. She blinked a bit, trying to rationalize the situation. It didn’t happen. This whole thing was odd for her.

“Good. Just like that. But you’re tense. I imagine my presence is doing that. Good survival instincts.” He said, leaning a bit towards her ear. His voice was dark. In it, she could hear some sort of anguish, some sort of ancient fear that existed far before humans. It was that silly fear of the dark she had when she was younger. Though with the strange man behind her, suddenly that fear seemed paradoxically rational. He relented and parted from her. She relaxed a bit when his hands ghosted off of her skin.

Sakura returned to her side of the table, a safe distance away. She had declined to comment on his statement. Instead, she pulled her wallet out and handed him the money for the delivery fee. He smiled at her, almost kindly and took it. He produced the last gun as well as a box of ammo.

“And how much do I owe you for the lesson?” She asked knowingly. He tugged down his mask to lick his thumb, needing purchase on the bills as he counted the money. He didn’t respond or look up at her. It was a good thing, because now she was staring at his bare face with a bit of horror. There were lines clear from the corners of his lips to his ears, stitched up haphazardly by some sort of black thread that was far too thick to be clinical. She looked away when he pulled his mask back up, apparently not realizing he had just shown her some sort of dark secret.

“Smart girl.” He hummed, pocketing the money and looking up to her finally. “You don’t have enough to pay for that.” He informed her matter of factly. “You’ll just have to owe me.”

“Oh no. My mother didn’t raise an idiot.” She pointed at him. “I’ll call Sasuke or somebody and we will settle up.”

“I won’t accept that. You’ll pay in an unnamed favor.” Kakuzu informed her assertively. Even though his voice had deepened, signaling that he meant business, the girl in front of him didn’t waver. She stood her ground in front of his tall frame, not at all intimidated.

“That wasn’t what we agreed upon. You didn’t have to give me the lesson.” Sakura’s brow knit and she deliberately kept her stance wide, as if posturing. She didn’t want to close off by crossing her arms, though the urge was strong.

“But the service has already been rendered. You owe me, Cherry.”

After a long moment, her shoulders returned to their natural height.

“That’s fine, but I’m not doing anything illegal.” Sakura told him, eyes hard.

“I’ll likely only ask for your blood.” Kakuzu shrugged. “Not all of it, of course.” If it weren’t for Angel’s explicit ‘don’t you touch a hair on her head’ nonsense, and had the girl not been a fellow hunter, he likely would have salvaged her heart for his collection. A virgin’s heart was valuable. Especially if it has loved before. He narrowed his eyes and disregarded the thought. “It was lovely to meet you, Cherry. We will have to do business again sometime. My phone number and business address are on that card.”

“It’s Sakura,” She said after a moment, trying to end on a friendly note. She held her hand out. When he shook it amicably, she noticed exactly how large of a man this was. His hand made hers look much smaller than she liked. She almost felt like a child. “I’m sure I’ll need more ammo eventually.”

“You are right.” He said and then looked her over. “Where do you plan to hide three guns? That hoodie is not going to be enough to safely hide three.”

Sakura froze. She thought it would be. Kakuzu sighed again, adding another debt to her tab, mentally. He approached her, though recognized false bravado as she stood her ground. He didn’t ask permission to touch her when he pulled her hoodie up. She almost slapped his hands away, but she recognized he wasn’t trying anything she’d have to kill him over. His index finger wormed between her warm flesh and the hem of her slacks, just at her hip. He stuck the barrel of the gun in it.

“The combination of the stiff fabric and loose drape of the hoodie is why it’s wiser to keep it here. Though you can’t hide the two others like this. It’s too suspicious.” He chided, draping the hoodie over the exposed handle.

In the back of her mind, Sakura’s subconscious feared the gun would fire straight into her leg for whatever reason. She made a face.

Kakuzu sighed. He was too kind. Especially to interesting women.

“I’ll deliver to your residence.”

Sakura’s cheeks flushed a bit. “I live with my mother.” She hesitated. Kakuzu’s eyes narrowed.

“What makes you think I couldn’t sneak around a woman?” He asked, cuttingly.

“You don’t know my mother.” Sakura could’ve laughed at their ridiculous conversation.

“Anything short of a god won’t see me when I don’t want to be seen. I’m an old hunter. Hunters don’t live long typically, especially if they can’t hide well.” He informed her and took out his phone. Sakura eyed the flip phone like it was some sort of novelty. “What’s your address?”

Sakura hesitated but eventually gave it up. Perhaps it was misguided, but she felt like she could trust him. They two parted, exiting through the back door. He walked her back to the station, which she was silently grateful for. She knew that she could defend herself, but she didn’t particularly want to.

Kakuzu couldn’t help but look at her every now and again, as if something was drawing his eye. It was odd. Disconcerting. His initial suspicion of her being a witch was wrong. He didn’t smell it on her. There was something more natural, more old than witch craft that he picked up on. She had to be some type of fay. Yes, there was no doubt. She was fairfolk and there was nothing else she could be. What else could have distracted him?

He could still feel the warmth of her soft skin on his fingertips. He spotted two young men who seemed to have particular interest in his new pink-haired ally. A wicked grin crossed his face when he recognized them as Hawk and Fox. Fox was obvious. Bright hair and clothing, and an expression of mistrust and jealousy. Hawk took him a moment, but he recognized that scowl as Raven’s younger brother. He rose a brow. They were both so protective of Cherry.

“Well, this is where I leave you.” Kakuzu decided now that Fox and Hawk had a good view. He leaned down (a considerable distance) and wrapped his arms around Sakura’s shoulders. She stiffened a bit but hesitantly returned the hug, though just as she did, he pulled away. “See you, later.” He hummed.

It was almost instantaneous. He vanished into the crowd as if he had never been there. Sakura let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. It felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, rivaled only by the thick iron pressed against her hip. She ran up to Sasuke and Naruto, smiling.

“Did he try anything?” Naruto asked quickly.

“He looked like a creep.” Sasuke added.

“He was a gentleman.” She assured him. “He’s delivering the other two items later.” She said uncertainly, though it wasn’t for worry of his actions, but more a worry for their reactions. “It’d be too suspicious to carry all three home and I couldn’t just hand them to you on the train.”

“Ah, that’s right. What a terrible time for you to not carry a purse.” Sasuke mused, earning him an angry scowl. Sakura wrapped her arm around his shoulder and kicked his feet out from underneath him, catching him in a pseudo-romantic hold. She turned her nose up haughtily, refusing to look at him.

“Sakura-chan, please put me down.” He said wearily. She shook her head and carried him all the way onto the train before setting him down. Naruto did his best to conceal the snicker that threatened to escape him. He was unsuccessful in this and it got out anyway. Sasuke glared at him, but eventually gave way to a small smile that he had to turn his head to rid himself of.

The three watched the setting sun through the blurry horizon as they sped past the skyline of Tokyo.


	4. Embarrassment of Different Natures

She was uncomfortable about showering, now. The idea seeming alluring as the staleness of the day had set in, though the knowledge that the strange weapons dealer could come to her any moment was disconcerting. That Kakuzu individual had said he would come by to deliver the other two guns and ammo, after all. Of course, that could mean that night, the next morning, the morning of. She had no way of knowing, but she was leaning towards the idea that he meant that night.

She had hid the gun she already possessed under the floor boards and set a jar of her blood out on her desk with a note for him to hide the guns in her drawer. For all she knew he’d dumbly knock on her window, or try to come through the front door. She had no idea if had any idea of what he was doing but still, she was inclined to trust him, even if the logical part of her brain screamed 'a paranormal criminal/hunter sneaking into your room is a terrible idea!'.

She wasn’t at all suspecting that he was already in her room. Of course, she felt an uneasiness as most did in his presence, but she hadn’t quite connected the dots. He watched her shuffle about and set the jar of her own blood on her desk.

He had to cover his mouth to prevent the laugh that threatened to expose him. She really thought she could settle up like that. It was almost cute. His eyes followed her as he observed her in her natural environment. Nothing nefarious, just an observation as he tried to discover what she was. It was clear to anyone who had been in the industry for more than a century; she wasn't human. If anyone else in the organization knew, they certainly hadn’t told him. He doubted even Itachi knew, that boy was a fledgling, prodigy of Madara or otherwise. Surely Itachi would have warned him, if he had heard about this creature. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Konan knew? She seemed fond of the girl, but perhaps she had been unwittingly charmed? It was uncharacteristic of her, but Konan always seemed cheerier online than she was in person. It could just be misinterpretation. 

Still, this nymph had enraptured his attention in the most primal sense. It really was quite manipulative of her. He’d have to get back at her somehow. Perhaps botch a job for her? Perhaps harm her? Didn’t she know not to mess with her superiors? He was very much her superior. He was physically larger, he was wiser by several thousand years, he was a stronger creature in all probability. Yet this spirit obviously thought it in her right to toy with him. 

She paused, looking to the shadow he was currently splayed in. His hearts stopped for a moment and he glowered, though he knew she couldn’t see him. That was downright impossible when he was in this form. She turned her back and meandered into her attached bath room, clearly not at all worried about the ancient horror lurking in her small, overly girly bedroom. When she shut the door, he emerged slowly, manifesting as a physical being once again. His bare foot pressed against the hard wood, then the second to follow. He quietly walked over to her desk.

Kakuzu’s sneer was almost audible when he saw exactly how girlish and childish her hand writing was. It was fitting, but disgusted him in an odd sense. He quietly pocketed the note without thought and opened her desk drawer with a very steady grip, careful not to make even the slightest of noises.

_**Pop.** _

_“Hah!”_ Sakura shouted, jumping out of the bathroom and looked around for the intruder. She had put a small cherry bomb in the sliding mechanism of the drawer so that it would alarm her of when it was being opened. “Damnit!” She followed up with when Kakuzu was nowhere to be seen.

From the shadow beneath her desk he smirked widely. It seemed she wanted to play a little game. Well, then. Who was he to deny a little girl her momentary entertainment? A threadlike tendril travelled through the cracks of the poorly placed floorboards and slithered underneath them. It emerged just behind her and tapped on her shoulder before darting back underground. She whirred around, growling.

“Playful, huh? I would’ve never imagined someone your age could—“ Her words were cut off as something yanked her ankle from beneath her and she landed on her butt. She hissed in pain, rubbing it lightly as she got up on her knees to alleviate the pressure. “ _Asshole_.” She muttered. “Come out!” She tried, jumping when a book was pushed from her shelf. “Come on, stop messing with me!”

A well placed pinch to her calf had her looking in the most hilarious places with such fury: in her closet, under her bed, in the alcove between bookshelves. When the third tap came she whipped her entire body around and steamrolled forward only to meet a solid torso, face first. She backed up, holding her nose now and checking for blood. It had felt like she cracked her nose on what she had once presumed was chest. With how much it hurt it could've very well been iron. 

“You’re a real bastard, you know that?” She muttered, putting her hands on her hips almost endearingly and glaring up at him. She looked so stern and angry, but that pout and pink hair prevented him from taking her all too seriously. 

He grinned down at her, though it was obscured by that same mask, so he still held a visage of pure impassiveness. She gave an exaggerated sigh and rubbed her arm lightly, leaning her wait on her dominant leg. She was very expressive. His stare was unnerving and it made her want to hide under her blankets like a startled child.

Kakuzu had to focus on keeping his eyes respectfully at her own. His natural instincts pressed him to open her chest cavity she was so flagrantly exposing with a tank top. That among other things he'd rather not delve into. Her mind games had him distracted and it was irritating to say the least.

“I hope one jar’s enough to settle up with.” She changed the subject. He huffed in amusement.

“Not nearly, young lady. Not even close to enough.” He said blandly, pulling two guns seemingly out of nowhere.

“So where were you hiding?” She asked, taking them and placing them beneath her floor boards.

“Under the bed. I’m the boogeyman.” He looked her dead in the eye. She wavered. He was kidding, right? The deep chuckle that reverberated in his chest confirmed her hope. “In the shadows.”

“May I ask how? So that I can prevent it in the future? It’s a bit creepy, don’t you think? Spying on high school girls?” She pressed on.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Sakura.” He rumbled.

She hesitated then. Her name sounded wonderful in that weird, thick accent of his that she couldn't quite place other than 'European but in a weird way'. She gave him a look of defeat and sat down on her bed. He wanted to say something, but she couldn’t tell what. Something had been bothering him. He sat on the other end of her bed, a much larger indent being pressed into the sheets. She hesitated at the thought he may break her bed under his weight. He didn't look all that heavy, but it seemed like as he settled, the bed groaned in protest.

“Careful around Uchiha Madara.” He finally spoke. She hesitated, giving a nervous look. “No, I’m not stalking you. I have better things to do with my time. You smell like him, though. It seems he marked you in some fashion. I imagine he did it to stop me from killing you." 

Sakura gaped, immediately looking down at her hand that she had used to shake his. That was the only contact they had.

“Why? Why would you kill me? Why would he know you--why would he know about us meeting--is he on the forum?” She was almost indignant. One thing was clear, he wasn’t human. That was fine and dandy, but why mark her? If she was correct, to most creatures that could mean three things; mate, victim, or thrall. Not protection. She was none of those three things to him. She hesitated and thought about the victim option again. He didn’t seem vicious. He seemed quite polite. Then again, so did serial killers and psychopaths at first. “I’ll watch my back. Thanks for the warning.” She murmured. Kakuzu nodded and took her hand gently. He whispered something and a black drop of blood slowly surfaced just beneath her skin. Sakura made a noise of disgust when she saw it as it materialized in her hand. Kakuzu wiped it away.

“You owe me quite a bit. Don’t think I won’t call on you for it.” He said before vanishing. She backed up and looked around. She took a deep breath, feeling a bit more relaxed now, though not entirely. She heard a rustling downstairs, but relaxed knowing Tsunade was likely just getting home from her ‘research’ with Jiraiya.

Sakura finally got in the shower, feeling comfortable to do so as she shown a lamp light on the only shadow in the bathroom and locked the door. She assumed that was how he traveled, so he might not have been joking when he said he was some sort of demon. After all, there would be no other matter for him to attach to in her room. Everything else would’ve burnt him as she cleansed her house with sage often.

It was a bit longer than a shower than she normally took, but it served to calm her nerves. She stepped out and wrapped a robe around herself, wrapping her short pink hair in a towel before treading downstairs to see her mother.

“Sakura, go back upstairs—go back upstairs **now.** ” Tsunade growled, having grabbed a flash light. She shown the light on Sakura’s face for a moment. “Somebody’s in here.”

“No, but I’ll cover your back.” Sakura said, discarding the towel from her hair so that it could not be yanked by any assailant. Her delicate footsteps were deceptive as she came up behind her mother. Tsunade couldn’t help a small laugh of pride. She certainly hadn't raised and trained a fragile little darling. 

“All of that training is getting to your head.” Tsunade remarked, shining the light into the shadows. Sakura’s brows knit a bit.

“Mother… _what_ are you looking for?” She asked quietly. There was no way Tsunade could have known.

A couple of feet way, Kakuzu pressed uncomfortably behind a bookshelf. _Had he been sloppy?_ There was no way this woman should’ve been able to spot him—much less detect him. While he knew he gave a sense of dread to all of those around him, this woman shouldn’t have known what it came from specifically. He had no memory of the human woman. Not even in passing. Perhaps he was getting senile in his old age. Certainly if Hidan found out about this, he would relentlessly wave it in his face as he was always hounding the immortal about his arrogance. Here he was, being arrogant and paying for it. 

He jolted as the bookshelf was yanked from the wall with decidedly inhuman strength. His eyes widened as he was forced to materialize as the flashlight exposed the smoke in the shadow. He coughed a bit and covered his eyes, falling over and glowering up at her.

“Kakuzu!” Sakura barked in surprise.

“Kakuzu?” Tsunade whipped her head around, obviously confused as to why her sweet cherry blossom knew this creature who had stalked about in their house.

“Sakura.” He greeted casually as if he hadn’t just been caught. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to hear how embarrassed he was. An ancient god like him being caught by an angry mother and her teenage daughter. His peers would mock him for millennia. 

“Explain yourself before I send you to hell.” Tsunade hissed.

“First,” Kakuzu almost towered over the woman, but she didn’t back down as he tried to will her to do. “I can’t go to hell, I don’t belong there.”

“I’m _fairly_ certain you don’t want to take that tone with me.” Tsunade used an arm to gently push Sakura behind her. “Why are you in my home?”

Kakuzu looked at Sakura, as if looking for the words. Tsunade’s eyes widened in fury. A fist met his face before he had a moment to react and he flew into the wall behind him, putting a dent in the drywall behind his head. He hissed in pain, and yanked his mask down to reset his now broken jaw. With a sickening pop, it healed.

“I’m fairly certain you misread that look. I don’t hold any hostilities or nefarious intents for your daughter.” Kakuzu said, realizing it would be better to play passivist and avoiding pissing off Konan by extension of pissing off Sakura by killing her mother. "I will leave it to her to explain herself." 

Oddly enough, Tsunade accepted this answer, unwittingly backing down in a type of combat she didn't know she had been fighting. Tsunade would find herself very sick in a week. Exposure to Kakuzu did that to humans who couldn't face him any longer. 

Despite her maternal instinct, she couldn't bare to look at that freak's face anymore. She knew what he was in a very vague sense. He was some sort of primordial terror. She wouldn't threaten him further, more in fear for her and Sakura's safety. As much as she loved to put people in their place, she value Sakura's safety more than her pride. She was willing to shrink her ego to avoid conflict with the demon.

“Perhaps I should leave, give you two some time to talk.” He suggested, side stepping carefully and turning to leave as Tsunade didn’t stop him.

“Why is that Eldritch bastard lurking in our house? How do you know him? And why did he look at you like that?” Tsunade immediately asked, turning her fury to her daughter now.

Sakura grimaced and tilted her head a little.

“I’m a hunter. He sold me some blood to use in a hunt. I know him through a friend.” She answered bluntly, not knowing to beat around the bush. It was clear Tsunade knew something, so she didn't bother explaining what type of hunt, what type of friend, or what type of blood. Still, she wouldn't mention the guns. That was something her mother would never approve of.

Tsunade stared for a moment.

It was a long moment.

The air was stifling, but more relaxed with the lack of Kakuzu. 

Sakura hesitantly glanced up at her, nervous as could be.

Would she kick her out? Forbade her from going on hunting trips?

Tsunade sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.

“A hunter, huh?” Tsunade hesitated. “I knew that, but to hear it out loud..."

“You _knew?_ ” Sakura asked. She did so much to cover her tracks! She even convinced Kakashi-sensei to cover for her, telling Tsunade that Sakura was on a field trip. Thanks to black mail she had on her former teacher, of course.

“Of course I knew. I’m your _mother._ ” Tsunade pouted, arms crossed. In that moment, her and Sakura shared posture and expression once again. They really did learn from each other quite a bit.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Sakura pressed, brows knit in a tone of betrayal and fear.

“I didn’t want it to be true.” Tsunade admitted. “But I knew I couldn’t stop you. After all, you and I are too alike.” She sighed, going to the liquor cabinet and grabbing a bottle of sake. “Sakura,” She began, but couldn’t find the words. Tsunade was disoriented for a moment. She swore she could see Dan's face, promising her he would be back in two days. She heard his voice. 

Blinking brought her back to the present.

“I’m safe.” Sakura reassured her, sitting down at the table with her. This was a difficult exchange.

“Not with that ancient bastard. He’s a heart collector. You shouldn’t associate with him.” Tsunade said.

“Wait. What’s a heart collector?” Sakura asked, suddenly extremely uncomfortable about owing him a debt.

“Well, a heart collector is anyone who kills and keeps the human heart. He could be anything, though I didn’t recognize what he was.” Tsunade scratched her cheek a bit, taking a long sip from the bottle, not bothering with a cup. The burn of the alcohol cleared her head a bit, ironically. “Where are you going Friday?”

“Kyoto. Hyuga estate…” Sakura began, looking away. “We don’t have proof of what we’re hunting but it is likely a Jikininki.” She said then looked back to her mother. “Why did you know and never bring it up?”

“I didn’t want it to be true.” Tsunade smiled sadly. Sakura was taken aback. Tsunade never expressed her emotions like that. It was uncomfortable. 

“I know about your losses.” Sakura urged, leaning forward and grabbing Tsunade’s hands. Tsunade smiled and squeezed lovingly.

“I trust you. I just don’t want to lose you. But! I know there’s nothing I can do to stop you from going. I’ve lost this fight before, and learned from my mistakes... Don’t give me that look. I’m not going senile!” Tsunade snapped, causing Sakura to laugh. Sakura didn’t initially mean to laugh but the tension had been broken so abruptly that she couldn’t help it. She smiled at her mother.

“I’ll be safe. I’ve got a Naruto and a Sasuke.” Sakura said.

“And connections to ancient demons.” Tsunade added. Sakura rubbed her neck nervously.

“I wish I knew what he was so I could ward the house.” Sakura muttered. “Maybe I could ask around.”

“That would be wise. I don’t like creatures that could peep on my daughter.” Tsunade hissed, slamming her hand on the table in renewed anger.

“You broke his jaw, I don’t think he’ll be trying it anytime soon.” Sakura giggled a bit.

Tsunade hummed in acknowledgement and looked at her daughter worriedly, wondering if now was the time to come clean.

No, it would have to wait.

“Ah! Your hand—did you get bitten by a snake?” Sakura asked, grabbing her mother’s hand and pulling it so she could get a better look.

“Oh, yeah. No venom, don’t worry. Just a little warning bite. It was a grass snake.” Tsunade said, watching her daughter’s critical eye as she examined the wound. Sakura’s heart broke and Tsunade could see it in her eyes.

It was a Naga bite. Tsunade was lying to her, and now Sakura knew there was quite a bit the two didn’t tell each other. Somehow, that hurt much more than knowing Tsunade knew about her hunting trips and didn’t bring it to debate sooner. Sakura decided to go along with it and smiled.

“I need to get to bed. I have school tomorrow still.” Sakura hummed and kissed Tsunade on the cheek before going back upstairs. “’Night, mom!”

“Goodnight.” Tsunade called, watching as her daughter left. She looked down at her hand and hissed in pain, thumbing over the wound. _He_ had attacked her and Jaraiya. He had tried to kill them. She looked at Sakura’s bedroom door nervously. Here she was preaching about danger to Sakura when her own presence was the most endangering thing to Sakura.

* * *

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Naruto called into the next room. “Can you bring me a soda?”

“No.” Sasuke griped and reached in the fridge, bringing two cans with him as he walked back into the living room.

“You’re a piece of work.” Naruto mumbled, accepting the soda. Menma jumped in Sasuke’s lap and curled up when he sat down in front of the low table. There were books and papers scattered across it and Naruto glared down at them hatefully. He had, in the time that Sasuke was in the kitchen to get refreshments, already written a page of fiction for his novel.

“Why can’t you apply yourself to school like you do your writing?” Sasuke asked, snatching the paper before Naruto could grab it. He never told Naruto, but he loved his novels. His eyes scanned over it, reading it rather quickly. “You’ve got Itachi’s attitude right, but he didn’t just kill everybody because he’s evil, right? Itachi isn’t that bad.” What he read was small glimpse. Strewn Uchiha bodies, blood drenched clan symbol. A small, scared Sasuke running through the compound in search for survivors.

“There’s the thing!” Naruto said, proud that he got Sasuke so entangled in the story that he would raise questions. He held his finger up to Sasuke. “I want the reader to think Itachi is nothing but pure evil, until the day that you, seeking revenge for your dead family, kills him! Then it will finally be revealed that he was doing it all out of love, and that everything he did, living his life in solitude, committing crimes that haunted his sleep, killing his beloved parents, best friend, even his lover—all for his little brother who ended up killing him.”

Sasuke sat there. The story got to him, but he tried to remain unphased at least in appearance.

“Holy shit.” He said after a moment.

“Yeah, man.” Naruto crossed his arms, looking down at a sheet of dialogue between Itachi and Kakashi. “For like, 12 books, he’s going to be the villain, and then the saint for the rest of the series.”

“You really have this thought out.” Sasuke muttered, shaking his head a little bit and pointing at the Calculus text book. “Focus.” He demanded.

“Fiiiine.” Naruto whined, taking a loud gulp of soda before glowering at the text book. “I only need a 50 to pass the test, right?”

“Yes. So you need to understand all of it, because you’re a terrible test taker and would miss half of the questions even if you knew the answer. You overthink things. Or underthink them.”

“Why can’t I just cheat off of somebody?”

“Kakashi is proctoring the final exam. He sees everything.”

“Everything except the damn clock so he can show up on time.”

Sasuke snorted but quickly reigned in his laughter, but Naruto grinned proudly as he made Sasuke laugh.

“Focus.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto glared back at him. Menma raised his head to look between the two before settling at siding with Sasuke and glaring at Naruto. Naruto gave a look to his cat; a mix of betrayal and surprise.

“Fine.” Naruto whined again, picking up his pencil.

The next three hours went by dreadfully slowly. It mostly consisted of Sasuke yelling at Naruto and Naruto complaining about Sasuke yelling at him. At some point it escalated into an argument.

With a growl, Naruto leapt across the table at Sasuke. Menma jumped away just in time, but the cat’s sudden parting distracted Sasuke.

“You son of a bitch!” Naruto yelled, trying to situate himself. Sasuke flipped Naruto back and pinned him to the table, eyes wide as his brain took a moment to process what was happening. “Not gonna happen!” Naruto yelled again, slipping out of his grip and returning the favor.

That is how they ended up on Naruto’s living room floor, wrestling in a pile of study material while Menma hissed and scratched at Naruto.

“You’re the world’s _shittiest_ cat!” Naruto hissed like a cat at Menma. Sasuke managed to gain the upper hand and Menma looked decidedly smug, giving both of them pause. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. That cat had to be as conscious as a human. It took both of them a moment to realize exactly what the smug look was about, but it registered with Sasuke first.

His cheeks grew red and his dark eyes plastered wide, string down at Naruto. Under his firm grip, he could feel Naruto’s pulse in his wrists. Sasuke licked his lips nervously, most certainly not wanting to move as he felt a certain hardness from Naruto that he wasn’t expecting. It pressed against Sasuke’s hip a bit more firmly than Sasuke would have expected.

It registered with Naruto next, when a pleasant stirring caused him a rather embarrassing symptom. He swallowed thickly, hoping Sasuke didn’t realize what it was. _Who was he kidding._ Of course Sasuke knew what it was. Oh god, Sasuke thought he was a freak now. He was almost entirely certain Sasuke would laugh at him or ridicule him. Why wasn’t he moving? Why was he just staring at him? Why did he feel a similar stiffness press against his abdomen. Did they both feel that same sexual attraction? Why now?

Sasuke’s breath hitched in his throat as a million thoughts raced through his head. This wasn’t what he expected—he still didn’t know how he felt about Naruto. Of course his fantasies occasionally wandered to his best friend, but he didn’t expect to have to confront those lusts and feelings quite like this. Better to simply ignore it.

“So uh… quadratic theory or whatever.” Naruto muttered.

“Y-Yeah.” Sasuke stammered, carefully removing himself and sitting with a book in his lap. Naruto did similar, crawling to the opposite side of the table. “Let’s… uh…”

There was a long pause that nearly suffocated the two.

“Want to make dinner?” Sasuke piped up. “I actually brought some groceries over. I figured you’d want to make dinner.” He rambled.

“Yep, sure, what’d you want to make?” Naruto said tersely.

“I brought stuff over for Pancit.” Sasuke suggested, rubbing his arm. Naruto found it oddly hard to talk for someone who did it so often. He rubbed the back of his head and stood up, awkwardly offering his hand to help Sasuke up.

As per the typical treatment, and much to his relief, Sasuke smacked it away and stood up on his own. They both stood in the kitchen, quietly preparing dinner like they had so many times before. Naruto had the inherent inability to cook, and Sasuke loved to cook just like Itachi did. Not just that, but their mother had taught them how to do it correctly, much to the annoyance of their overbearing father. So, Sasuke had taken it upon himself when they were both twelve, to teach Naruto how to cook. Lots of the couples or people who tried to foster Naruto didn’t mind. The ones who wouldn’t allow it didn’t last long.

Menma sat on the counter, tail flicking idly as he watched the two. He collected scraps from Sasuke happily and devoured them greedily. Naruto would chide him about it, but Sasuke ignored him.

“You’re going to make my cat get chubby.” Naruto said casually, dropping the cooked noodles into a strainer.

“Come on, he’s obviously not a regular cat, so it’s fair to assume his body doesn’t function like a lazy house cat’s.” Sasuke said, wiping his hands off on a towel and then picking up Menma, who simply hung Sasuke’s grip loosely, not feeling particularly endangered. “Naruto, we’re around supernatural shit all the time. This. Is. Not. A. Cat.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Menma who just barely stuck out his tongue, giving him a dumbly hilarious look. Naruto stuck his tongue out as well, and shook his head.

“Whatever it is, it’s stupid and clingy and doesn’t pay any of the damn bills!” Naruto said, earning a swipe across the face. He gargled out an insult and held his bleeding cheek. Menma licked his paw, cleaning the ‘Naruto’ off of it. Sasuke grinned and sat the ‘cat’ back down on the counter, scratching behind its ears idly. “Besides, the bridges have already been crossed. That thing watched me change. I shaved that thing. Embarrassment for the both of us. It's my cat, just to keep things simple.”

Menma gave him an angry look. Naruto returned it.

“Naruto, sake of simplicity aside, plate the food.” Sasuke said, pouring the two of them glasses of water and fishing through the drying rack for clean utensils. Naruto never put dishes away in cabinets. They sat in the drying rack with a towel over them until they were used, washed, and returned to their permanent state of drying off.

Sasuke stuck a pair of metallic chopsticks in Naruto’s plate and picked up his own food, bringing it back to the disheveled table. It was a good thing that neither of them wanted to discuss what their mutual attraction, but… Sasuke still felt oddly disappointed that they didn’t.

“Hey, so… in your novels, I’m perpetually angry because all of my family is dead?” Sasuke asked casually, looking up from his meal at Naruto.

“You’re like that anyway.” Naruto managed with a mouth full of food. “But like, on steroids in the story, because yeah, you walked in on Itachi standing over your dead parents.”

There was a bit of a heavy silence.

“I’m not perpetually angry. I’m content, most of the time.” Sasuke felt the need to inform him. Naruto stared, trying to figure out why Sasuke was defending himself. With anybody else, Sasuke never cared what others thought.

“Yeah, but you’re always an asshole to me.” Naruto continued.

“Well, you’re annoying.” Sasuke retorted, less offended by the implication than he thought he would be. Naruto scoffed.

“ _That’s_ why I think you’re always fucking with me.” Naruto’s mouth turned to a deep frown. Sasuke looked up and finally looked him in the eye. “You’re always ragging on me and insulting me and you call me vulnerable for expressing my emotions.”

Sasuke glared now, heat rising to his cheeks a bit. It’s true. He did almost constantly berate Naruto. In fact, he couldn’t remember an instance when he expressed just how much Naruto’s friendship meant to him. He wouldn’t start now.

“Whatever.” He said, finishing his food.

“Yeah,” Naruto huffed, a bit settled down. Sasuke was hurting from his words and that reassured Naruto that he cared. He didn’t have to tell him. Naruto may not be as clever or quick-witted as Sasuke and Sakura, but he was close enough to the two of them to know how they felt without them saying it. Some crazy old psychic lady had once called him an Empath, and told him it meant he was able to sense what people were feeling, but he didn’t buy into it too much.

A thick darkness had settled over the quiet neighborhood, save for the occasional whir of a bike, heavy foot falls from upstairs neighbors, the odd dog bark, the gentle whispers of the wind. Out of the window, Sasuke could see the twinkling light of the houses across the road’s lights shining through the windows, warm, inviting, foreign. Sasuke had relaxed greatly, shoulders reaching a low they hadn’t in a while.

Naruto had earlier opened a window and the aroma of the neighborhood wafted through the open space, carried by a cold breeze. The smell was something like old gasoline and the food vendor carts that were pushed up and down the street during the day.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sasuke called. He patted Menma’s head at the door and slipped his shoes back on.

“Yeah, see you.” Naruto hummed, already enraptured in continuing his story, pencil scratching hypnotically against the lined paper. Sasuke stared for a moment before shutting the door behind him and wandering down the mildew-laden hallway of the the 7th floor. He pressed the cracked button of the elevator door and listened to the muffled ding of the elevator bell. It opened and he entered it, not acknowledging the resident already in the small space. He pressed ‘1’.

The street was empty and liminal.

Back in the apartment, Naruto had been freshly inspired to write, so he poured everything onto the paper, not bothering to correct his grammar, spelling, or change sentence structure. Those things were for editors. Which, he didn’t have yet, but Pervy Sage was going to teach him how to edit his own paper, so there was no use in doing it yet.


	5. Blood Bombs

Sakura’s combat uniform was something akin to her casual clothing, enough at least to not get her strange looks on the train. She wore a red top, tightly knit mesh underneath made of cables. It would prevent the tip of a knife, claw, or teeth from going incredibly deep. The top had a stiff neck, and white running down the front in a thin stripe. She fastened a type of utility belt around her waist. It was thin enough to be passed off as a modernized Obi, but thick enough to conceal her gun, a vial of holy water, a vial of blood, and a specialized karambit knife. The holes in the handle were large enough for her fingers to slip into easily so that they could be used as brass knuckles as well. Under it, she wore bike shorts and covered her legs with stockings, the same black as her shorts. Lastly, though initially she didn’t like the idea, she wore work boots.

After their fifth hunt, Sakura had realized the vital spots that creatures tended to attack: neck, feet, waist, torso. So, she covered her neck with a high collar, mostly to aesthetically cover it, but she noticed a difference, almost like the thin fabric was a deterrent. She wore thick steel-toed boots to save her feet from certain perils. Her utility belt did good work to stop certain attacks that would’ve been more painful. It wasn’t necessarily padded, but it did a little to cushion the blow. The torso she would have to defend herself, as wearing a breastplate would probably earn her humorous looks.

Naruto’s clothing was a bit more casual, but he had noticed things tended to attack Sakura anyway, either out of sexist reasoning, or the fact that she drew their eyes first with her bright pink hair. He still wore that shade of orange Sasuke had grown to hate so thoroughly. The track suit was his choice for just about everything, but especially combat. It was a light, breathable material. The shoulders of his jacket were black, with a black stripe running from the high neck, similar design to Sakura’s, down the zipper. It had enough pockets to hide a couple of tactical knives in, as well as a couple of various wards and charms. While Sakura preferred to be face-to-face, Naruto preferred midrange battle. He didn’t mind getting up close and personal with an attacker, but he just didn’t have the skill that Sakura did, so he resigned to sealing and warding. He was also the proud owner of throwing knives. Those were just as effective as the charms at the end of the day.

Jiraiya had given him something of a shoulder patch when they first met. He realized later on that it weakened any malicious creature near him. Though they had tried desperately to recreate it, they were unable, so Naruto wore it on his arm to protect himself. At first, he insisted that Sakura be the one to bear it, and they tried it that way, but nothing would get near her when she wore it, so she was unable to fight.

Sasuke’s was the least developed as he was almost never in direct combat with anything other than Naruto when he pissed him off enough. He simply wore a grey zip-up shirt with a high collar that he almost never zipped up all the way. The highest he liked the zipper to go was just under his clavicle. He wore chest and wrist guards as his skill with the bow was exceptional but he still occasionally managed to injure himself. It was the only weapon he could use very well. He didn’t have the hand-to-hand combat skill that Sakura had, or the knowledge of charms, seals, and wards that Naruto did. He had a sharp eye, amazing visualization, and an unprecedented aim. On top of it all, he was swift and ambidextrous.

He had grown up learning archery, and though he was better with a compound bow, he used a Mongolian model for hunts, as many sigils and charms were carved into the limbs, curtesy of Naruto. It made the arrows with the same insignia deadly for just about everything they could hunt. He carried 60 arrows, thin but fatal and tipped in iron to make them even effective against spirits.

He hauled his duffle bag over his shoulder, bow strapped around the other. The bleeding red numbers of his alarm showed it was just past 5 am. He needed to go get Naruto up. Luckily, he had helped Naruto pack the day before, so that all he would have to do in the morning would be shower and put his clothes on.

The street was beginning to come alive.

“Dango lady,” Sasuke greeted, pulling his wallet out as the cart vendor pushed her charge over the curb and stopped in front of him. She smiled and handed him the two that he paid for.

“One bitter for you, and the sweet one for Naruto-san, yes?” She questioned, pocketing the money and handing him change.

“Right again. Itachi will be back next week.” He informed her kindly. Every single day that Itachi was home, he managed to catch the vendor and buy at least three from her. He had an unrivaled sweet tooth.

“Great! See you soon! Thank you again, Sasuke-san!” She crooned, pushing the cart further.

Sasuke headed up the stair case this time, not wanting to meet the morning residents as they used the elevator. He was a bit out of breath by the time he got to Naruto’s floor, but he was used to the climb by now.

Much to his non-surprise, Menma was waiting for him at the door and Naruto was splayed out, naked but thankfully covered by a half-wrapped cocoon of sheets and blankets. Sasuke quietly sat down his bag and picked up the cat, letting it crawl to his shoulders and nuzzle against his cheek. He didn’t mind Menma’s attention at all. He quite liked cats, even if this one was only vaguely a cat. It wasn’t so weird as long as he stayed in that form.

Sasuke watched Naruto’s drooly grin twitch in his sleep, face painted with some sort of mirth. He took a moment to admire the physique. Though Naruto was lazy, he was thinly muscled, a bit more than Sasuke was. The sheets tangled around his long limbs and Sasuke quickly snapped himself out of his daze when he realized it had to be at least 5 minutes he had spent staring at Naruto’s abs.

“Wake up, idiot.” Sasuke muttered, taking a bottle of water from his night stand, unscrewing the lid and dumping it on him.

“Wh—fuck!!” Naruto squeaked, wiping his face off and quickly covering himself.

“You shouldn’t sleep naked. What if the apartment building has a fire drill?” Sasuke chided.

“At 5:23 AM?—Oh shit it’s almost 5:30.” Naruto scrambled out of bed, ass naked. Sasuke’s eyes widened a bit, and this time he didn’t look away as Naruto flailed for the shower. Sasuke faked an eye roll when he heard something like a snicker from Menma.

He laid out Naruto’s clothes for him on the bed and wandered to the kitchen, grabbing a couple of waters and drinking one for himself.

Naruto took record-setting showers. He was out, fully bathed in about 6 minutes.

“Thank you!” He called, jumping into his clothes and buckling his pants as he walked into the kitchen with Sasuke. He took his dango and bit eagerly. Sasuke spoiled him, and he tried not to think of the ‘why’ beyond the ‘I’m one of the few friends Sasuke has because he’s an utter asshole sometimes’.

“Come on, I’ll bet Sakura’s already at the station.” Sasuke said, pulling his sandals back on. Naruto’s choice in foot wear remained to be tennis shoes, for every occasion.

“Probably.” Naruto whined, grabbing his pre-packed bag and hurrying to the elevator. “Hey!” He called to the familiar face. “Um…”

Shino narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. “Shino.” Sasuke said curtly.

“Yeah! Sorry, we don’t see each other often so I forgot.” Naruto laughed heartily. Sasuke rose a brow.

“We have all the same classes and see each other every morning on the ride down.” Shino said. “Why are you up so early?”

“We’re sick. If a teacher asks.” Sasuke said, interrupting.

“Got it.” Shino hummed.

They didn’t see Shino again on their way to the train stop. Indeed, Sakura was already there and used the wired money that Hiashi had sent them for the train tickets. They were a bit pricey at nearly fourteen-thousand yen, but worth it as they would be there at about 8:30. They boarded the shinkansen. It was a rare treat that they travelled anywhere first class, but Sakura and Sasuke were almost certain that it was because Hiashi thought he may be sending them to their deaths. Naruto didn’t think twice about it.

Naruto eagerly put his feet up and grinned at the two. Both of them seemed stoic, or scared. Naruto and Sasuke sat with Sakura in the middle as each row had two seats, then one on the other side of the aisle.

The two hours passed rather quickly, with the trio discussing strategy with increasing heart rates.

[cherry_blossom7 logged in]  
[angel]: big day?  
[cherry_blossom7]: haha I’m starting to get nervous!! which is new. i’m never nervous before a trip.  
[raven]: It’s quite understandable. You said the Jikininki already killed another investigative team. If it becomes too much, get out of there. One of us will come to get you. I believe Greed is still in the area of Tokyo.  
[greed]: I am.  
[shark_bites78]: isnt that worse? lmao  
[art_is_a_bang]: good luck, cherryhawkfox  
[cherry_blossom7]: we’re separate people  
[hawk44]: Don’t link me with those two idiots.  
[god]: Cherry, I am actually in Kyoto at the moment. Unrelated reason. If you are in too deep, you may contact me.  
[cherry_blossom7]: everyone is in japan huh? alrighty! i’ll keep it in mind! time to go. we’re at the platform.  
[angel]: be safe. be smart.  
[cherry_blossom7 logged off]  
[hawk44]: Fuck you, Raven.  
[hawk44 logged off]  
[raven]: He’s grown up so fast.

Naruto was beginning to feel the pressure as the three gathered their bags and made their way through the station. There was a private car waiting for them, Hyuga insignia on the side. They slid into the back seat, Sakura once again (though now bitterly) wedged in the middle. It was a tight squeeze for the three of them, but someone was already in the front two seats.

“Welcome to the Hyuga’s family estate.” The driver said nonchalantly as they approach very large, very ornate gates.

“It’s… beautiful.” Sakura managed, squishing Naruto as she practically pressed her face to the window.

“The Hyuga put quite a bit into the compound as its where their young grow up and their elders retire.” The driver informed them. “It is a paradise.”

‘Minus the man eating demon’. Sasuke thought. He bitterly remembered the Uchiha having something similar, though not nearly as decorated as this was.

“Alright, this is where I let you go. Hiashi is not here, regrettably. I will be here tonight at 6pm to retrieve you. Meals are at 9am and 1pm. Feel free to utilize whatever resources you must. Be safe.” The driver said as Sakura shuffled out after the other two. She shouldered her bag, heart racing.

Naruto looked around warily, bright blue eyes scouting the area with trained precision, though not as neatly honed as Sasuke’s. The grounds gave no immediate sign of danger. Everything was pristine, even the grass.

Sasuke gestured for Sakura to lead the way. Even though they were not in immediate danger, they assumed their triangular position, Sakura in front, and her back covered by the other two, which would give them enough time to back up and cover her properly as she beat the ever loving shit out of whatever had planned to attack them.

“Alright, I’ve got the grounds memorized. We are not splitting up for any reason whatsoever.” Sakura informed them. She led them to a large garden with a single, wide tree, mangled and gnarly but sentinel over the delicate flowers that surrounded it. She sat down in the grass, enjoying the shade as she pulled the map from her bag, as well as her laptop. Most of her notes were on that.

“Jikininki are nomadic creatures, but can occasionally stick to one area should it have a good supply of dead bodies and hiding. There are plenty of dark places to hide in the compound. A few of them being crawl spaces, walls, attics.” She sighed warily.

Sasuke grimaced a bit. “Where do we start, Sakura-chan?” He hummed, watching her mind working behind her eyes. “We’ll set traps in the easternmost and westernmost areas.” Sakura decided and pulled the sizable jar of collected blood from her bag.

She poured some into a much smaller jar as well as ammonia. She swirled it around a bit before she picked up a very tiny plastic pouch of bleach. Naruto’s eyes narrowed in confusion when she planted it on the inside of the jar’s lid.

“When the creature opens the jar, the bleach pouch, now punctured with the turn of the lid will fall into the blood, infused with ammonia which will form a noxious gas.” Sasuke explained to Naruto. “Then how do we get close and kill it?”

“We don’t get too close. I’m going to get close enough to where I won’t miss a vital organ.” Sakura said, patting the outline of her gun lightly. “We are not taking chances.”

“We can’t just shoot it—what if it is just doing it out of nature?” Naruto hissed. “We can’t kill it until we know it has given up on humanity.”

Sakura stared at him for a moment. “It’s killed and eaten over ten people. Even if it repented, there are consequences for those actions.” She said so firmly that Naruto knew not to argue. Naruto frowned deeply, but looked away. He didn’t agree with her. It felt wrong. The creature was once a human. Sakura stood up with the jar as Sasuke fiddled to carefully make another. She looked down at her watch thoughtfully.

“If this map’s scale is accurate, given our typical speed in formation A, we can cross from one wall to the other in about 20 minutes.” Sasuke calculated, having to write out a small equation on the map. “North to south looks like about 40 minutes.” His voice was weary.

“Yes, these traps though, should ground the Jikininki. God said they were akin to the living dead but still had a functioning respiratory and obviously a functioning digestive system so if the gas doesn’t knock him out, the mixture in his stomach will. He may be there long enough to catch. If not, he’ll be weakened. It’s at least a good 700 ppn.” Sakura informed Sasuke with her brow knit.

Naruto sat back, idly messing with the hem of his pants legs. Often when they would go on with their talks, he would tune them out or store what they said away in his memory to write as their characters later. He didn’t understand the science or math aspects of what they were talking about but knew they would utilize him often, so he didn’t feel as useless as he did the first time they had hunted.

“Naruto, can you smell anything out of order?” Sakura asked. Naruto’s nose twitched as if it knew it was being talked about. He grinned a little. Something for him to do.

“Yeah. Rotten meat. It’s definitely around.” He nodded. He was always able to pick up scents better than others. “Though with that gross stuff, it’s a little more difficult.” He pointed at the jar. “Your blood smells weird, Sakura.”

Sakura gave him a funny look, trying to figure out whether he was messing with her or not. “I’ll go to a doctor when we’re done here.” She placated when she realized he was serious. “Or something.” She muttered, smearing a bit of her blood on the outside of the jar so that the pure scent was still there.

“Will this really work?” Naruto whined. “You might as well put a little tag on it that says ‘Drink Me’!” He waved his hands sarcastically and squinted, as if that would help him through the logic. “This thing probably isn’t that dumb.”

“Kakuzu informed me that the smell of virgin blood is too alluring for creatures to ignore. That should overpower the increasingly receding humanity in the Jikininki and cause him to open the jar. Which will… either kill him or weaken him.” Sakura returned, scratching her cheek worriedly. “Then we shoot it either way. It has to die.”

“You said ten?” Sasuke piped in, carrying both of their to-be-Chlorine-bombs. He rose from where they sat and looked around, trying but failing to memorize their surroundings. For the first time, he thought maybe they were a bit underqualified to work this case. He did not voice those concerns.

“Ten. That they found. The numbing of missing staff and clansmen are in the 30’s. So there’s possibility 46 victims.” Sakura said then glanced to Naruto who was giving her a look. “Empedocles’ Law of the Hunt states that once the victim count reaches a number higher than three, that the killer is now lost to their instincts.”

“That guy was from like… way before they started counting the years!” Naruto tried, standing up as Sakura shut her laptop and put it away. “It’s outdated!”

“Naruto.” Sakura’s voice got a bit darker. “The theory is old, but it is accurate.”

“C-Can we at least try?” Naruto’s voice strained and broke Sakura’s heart. He hated killing.

“Yes. But if it does not feel remorse for the corpse, we shoot immediately.” Sakura said. “Are your guns loaded?”

Both nodded.

“Good. Let’s head to the East Wing. That’s closest.”

The entire clan ground was immaculate, but empty. After the third family death, the family was moved away on a temporary vacation overseas. The staff remained, constantly keeping up the grounds, but each of them busied about with the greatest care, practically trembling at the slightest groan of wind. It was understandable. Though they were sworn to secrecy, they all knew of the demon that haunted their grounds.

“There is always a terrible creaking sound.” One recounted to the group, shifting uncomfortably and rubbing his arm worriedly. “It’s… it was human at first. I saw it on the first victim and scared it off… it doesn’t look anything like a human now.” He said and dug around in his pants pocket for his phone. The image was blurry, but the trio saw now what it looked like. The photo was timestamped for two days prior to their arrival.

“Naruto, we won’t be able to communicate with it.” She pointed out the obvious. Naruto’s silence said enough. He glared down at the grass, still. He hated to kill. “God… it…” She narrowed her eyes. “It looks more and more like a Wendigo, but it couldn’t be, right?” She managed. “We don’t have those around here, and it would have been caught on a plane or boat had it come from the Americas. Wendigos are too obvious.”

“You’re right. Still,” Sasuke sighed, staring at the image. “Delete that from your phone, and speak of it never.” He said firmly. The groundskeeper hesitantly did just that. “I’m trusting you didn’t send that anywhere.”

“Even if he did, Konoha Council would send out many more images, counteracting that one and discrediting it.” Sakura assured Sasuke, though it was mostly for the groundskeeper to hear. “They’re quite thorough.”

The three made their way to the temple on the grounds. The most bodies had been found there.

“The stench…” Naruto breathed. “Like rotten meat, blood, and vomit.” He sniffed the air again. “No… blood and meat in vomit.”

“That’s particular.” Sakura commented.

“Its body is rejecting its meals?” Sasuke said inquisitively.

“It sounds like it may not be a Jikininki, but could very well be turning into one.”

“We should reach out to Angel or somebody.” Naruto suggested.

“There is no signal.” Sakura grimaced. “The Hyuga implanted signal blockers so that their staff couldn’t blab about this.”

“Fuckin’ convenient.” Naruto hissed.

“Right,” Sakura said after a moment. Something felt terribly wrong. They had placed the bombs to be discovered and were standing in the temple, fabled to be a hub for Jikininki activity, as a whole among the species. She looked down to see her hands trembling. Fear?

“Sakura-chan.” She heard Naruto’s voice and shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” She lied and paced towards the shrine, stopping just an arm’s length in front of it. “This is tainted. Somebody has defaced it spiritually.”

“Let me take a look,” Naruto insisted and stood next to her, analyzing it carefully. “Pervy Sage taught me about this. It’s a Redirect Seal. Originally it was good but now it’s evil.” He explained it simply, not nearly as complicated as Jiraiya had first explained it to him.

“For whom?” Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed as he turned his back to his two friends, observing their surroundings. He had his bow in hand now, quiver languidly resting between his shoulder blades. His skin felt too-tight over his muscle.

Naruto stepped up and put his hand up to the shrine, touching it gently. It burned his skin in a very light manor. He dug through his jacket pocket and pulled out a tome. He removed the adhesive back and slapped it onto the roof of the shrine.

“No one, now.” He said proudly and jolted back. A white snake coiled out of the shrine, bright red eyes glowering darkly at Naruto. Sakura didn’t hesitated to grab it, holding it firmly at its head, thumb pressed under its jaw to prevent it from biting. The snake tried to wrap around her arm but the hold was useless.

“Take a picture.” She urged Naruto. Naruto complied, documenting the creature and watching Sakura carefully as she pulled her karambit out and gripped it in her left hand, though it was an awkward hold. She braced the snake against the floor of the now-not-holy temple and slice it at the neck, careful not to cut herself. “Sorry.” She whispered to it. It some some sort ot vessel as she thought, because as it ceased to writhe, it fell into ash. She dipped her finger gingerly in the ash and looked to Naruto.

“It smells like human.” He said worriedly. “Like, entirely.”

“Not good… do you think a warlock could be behind the abnormalities?” She asked.

“It… doesn’t… I don’t know. It’s just overwhelmingly human.” Naruto stammered.

“Sasuke?” Sakura called. Sasuke had wandered just outside of the temple, eyes scanning his surroundings before he returned.

“This is pretty strange behavior, even for a Jikininki. I’ve done my research. They are scavengers, not killers. But look,” He gestured towards the door. There were scratches they hadn’t noticed before, long and far apart. They came from claws much longer than any Jikininki that had been documented. Sakura’s breath caught as she was overcame with dread once again. Her chest tightened. Anxiety?

Naruto looked just as frightened, and though Sasuke shared their feelings, his mask of aloofness was unmoved. It was impossible to read him as per usual, though now it felt frustrating.

“Let’s head North. We should check out the forest while it’s daylight.” Sakura suggested, gathering herself together and wiping the blood from her blade on a handkerchief she kept for such occasions. She tucked her knife away in its holster.

“What we do is completely crazy.” Naruto muttered. “No normal person just goes ‘Hey lets go into a dense forest on a creepy ass, stuck-in-edo-period clan ground to look for a flesh-eating-monster!’” He looked exasperated, almost entirely at himself. After all, he was eager to go.

The other two heard it, but neglected to comment on his concern. They shouldered their equipment and began walking.

“How far?”

Sasuke looked at the map.

“14 minutes.” He said.

“I’d kill for some Heeleys.” Naruto whined.

Sakura couldn’t help the amused snort that came from her and she quickly covered her mouth. The image of the three of them skating through the grass with their toes pointed upwards bore in her brain humorously.

“Those would be impractical.” She informed him tersely and looked at her watch. She checked her phone’s signal. Still nothing.

Sasuke scratched his arm, feeling unusually uncomfortable. Time seemed to pass quicker than any of them liked as they drew upon the treeline. Sakura’s eyes examined everything in such an analytical fashion that Itachi would be jealous. Sasuke watched carefully as well, though not with the concern and prowess that Sakura seemed to. It was vastly unnatural how she did that. He narrowed his eyes at the thought, but was forced to ignore the thought as Sakura stepped into the forest, well-lit through the canopy of leaves.

A heavy feeling of déjà vu took her and caused her to physically stagger, bracing herself against a tree. The star-like spot lights created by sunlight and shade shook ever slightly as the girl gripped the tree’s bark, sounds from her worried friends drowning in the rushing sound of her own blood. She took deep breaths. Anxiety attack? No, it felt much worse. She blinked slowly, eyes unable to focus.

“Sakura!” Naruto called, grabbing her shoulders. Sasuke leaned in, concern breaking his façade now. “Oh—shit!” Naruto hissed, holding her close and looking around. “Do you think she saw it?!”

“She’s exhibiting signs of direct contact with it.” Sasuke said, scanning their surroundings but keep his eyes on the ground. Most creatures that held enough malicious intent were able to paralyze one with no more than eye contact. He would have to avoid looking in their eyes, then. “It’s too quiet.” Sasuke muttered, grabbing an arrow.

Sakura’s back straightened and she broke the hold Naruto had on her. She took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I didn’t see it.” She amended. “Let’s keep moving. This is a good sign, that we’re getting close.”

The forest grew denser. Sakura realized the Hyuga likely kept the forest there solely for the aesthetic of it, because the further in they got, the further it was overgrown and—

“Body.” She said flatly. Dangling like a lure, about 9 meters ahead through the thicket and brush. Her fists clenched by her sides and she instinctively rose them to chest level. “It looks like it was planted for us.”

“This is the point where we should call the police and let them process it.” Naruto suggested. Sasuke shook his head.

“No. They would interfere and put more at risk.” Sasuke said firmly.

“This is darker than we usually deal with…” Naruto complained.

“We have to try.” Sakura determined, wondering what had gotten into Naruto. Normally their roles were reversed, she was the one trying to back out and he was the one charging ahead.

She examined the terrain with each slow step to make sure she wouldn’t spring any traps. The body was half eaten. The blood was warm but quickly cooling.

“Sasuke, take high ground and cover Naruto and I, Naruto I need you to my back at all times, not apart from me. We’re calling this Formation D.” Sakura said quickly.

Sasuke was the first to move. Years of gymnastics and Itachi teaching him a bit of parkour after the two shared interest in a video game, had taught him a very useful skill. He scaled the a large oak tree quickly, bow drawn, arrow nocked but not ready to be fired. His heart beat like a drum in his ears.

Naruto withdrew throwing knives from his jacket, positioning one between each of his fingers and turning his back on Sakura to watch her carefully. She cut the body down and examined it with a careful eye.

“She,” Sakura said after a moment, identifying it as a woman, though that was difficult with the mangled form. “She likely did not die at the hands of the Jikininki.” Sakura determined, touching the neck. “She was strangled.” She said after opening the woman’s remaining eyelid. “Severe petechiae. It looks manual, but it’s difficult to say.”

Sakura carefully wiped away a bit of blood from the neck. “There are obvious bruises here, but the rope mark… I can’t tell which she died of.”

“What’s it matter?” Naruto muttered, queasy at the sight and the smell.

“Well, I have a theory…” Sakura said weakly. “That our Jikininki is being fed deliberately.”

“Holy shit.” Naruto breathed. “So like… a killer?”

“Yes.” Sakura nodded lightly. Both of their attentions were drawn as an arrow whirred past them and stuck into another snake. Sakura’s eyes widened ever so slightly and she looked up at Sasuke.

“It’s white, like the other. If your theory is true then whatever it is associates with snakes. Nothing comes to mind.” Sasuke added, nocking another arrow in perpetration.

“Naga?” Sakura said, remembering the bite on her mother’s hand uneasily.

“Let’s focus on getting rid of the Jikininki for now.” Sasuke suggested. He half expected Naruto to go on about morality again, but when he did not, he looked with concern down to his friend as he looked around, fear and hesitation evident in his boyish features.

“Agreed.” Sakura said, tracing a gloved finger over a particularly deep chuck of missing flesh. “Perhaps…” Sakura muttered. She shook her head, losing her train of thought again as her mind became hazy. “Something’s wrong.” She managed before nearly collapsing.

Sasuke didn’t jump down as Naruto was there to steady her. He watched carefully, guarding the two from the tree tops. That was how he could best defend them.

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto said thickly, holding her by her shoulders again. Her eyes were distant and trance like. He hesitated bit carefully slid and turned so that he could haul her on his back. “Let’s get her to the safety of the temple.”

“I’ll stay up here.” Sasuke said, steadying himself before leaping to another branch. “I have a better vantage point.”

“Right.” Naruto said, leaning forward to balance Sakura on his back. She was staring off into space blankly, mouthing something incoherent. “Uhhh… which way?” He said, voice heightened a bit.

Sasuke paused and looked around. The forest was dense, holding no particularly easily spotted landmark. He remembered the map. “Any way.” He said after a moment. “We’ll exit the forest no matter which way we go, so long as we go in a straight line.”

“Seems logical.” Naruto hesitated before going forward, back the way they came. Sasuke expertly leapt and swung between branches in nearly complete silence. Had Naruto not had the advantage of oddly good hearing, he wouldn’t have picked up on it at all.

It took them twice as long to exit as it did to enter. When they reached the temple, Naruto laid Sakura down gently and stared into her eyes. They had almost looked too green, like her iris was bleeding its color to the rest of her eye. Sasuke looked over her for a moment.

“It almost looked like a mild seizure of some time.” He said.

He wasn’t sure where she was, but she was not with them, leaving two of them by themselves to fend. He had Naruto ward the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins! Let me know what you think! Feed me those comments, you know I live off of them.


	6. Forest Dweller

There was an ancient calling, like chanting and drums and the crackle of fire. Her breath floated in front of her lips like a tangible force. Her eyes followed the moss covered ground to a large root sticking impatiently out of the ground, rising through the sea of green in a disobedient fashion that seemed to beckon her towards it, as though it had a long story to tell her. Rings of mushrooms grew freely around the forest floor, not caring to scatter themselves in an organized path. Fungi seemed to grow along every tree that did not already dress itself with brightly colored, emerald ivy.

She groaned upon sitting up. Her entire body ached, like something was pulling her by every muscle. She crawled hapzardly in that direction, blindly feeling around the soft moss and thin grass until she bumped into the trunk of an enormous tree. It welcomed her with a great creak as the wind rustled its leaves in a greeting song to her. Birds in the tree seemed to fly away from their nests, startled by the new presence's affect on the 

Her eyes slowly adjusted and when she looked around, her friends were nowhere to be seen. The tree trunk in front of her, she noticed, stretched far, at least ten times her height sideways. She looked up to see its dry branches, void of leaf nor blossom, but she recognized it as her namesake, though it grew taller than the species normally allowed. She couldn’t help her amused huff before remembering herself. She pulled the gun from her belt and looked around carefully. Sakura reviewed the situation in her head.

They had just discovered a half-eaten body. She fainted, though she didn't feel any particular shock or injury.

She seemed to be entirely alone in a dense, eerie forest. She managed to get to her feet and walk a bit, but every time she strayed too far from the tree she began to ache and feel ill. That’s how she ended up climbing the tree with very slow, uncertain movements.

Getting to a sturdy branch, she sat down and observed her surroundings. It was a very grim forest indeed, but she wasn’t sure how she’d ever get out. She sighed heavily and nearly jumped out of her skin when a familiar female voice piped up from below her.

“What?” Sakura said hoarsely and carefully got down, landing in front of Tenten with a bit of ease that she was proud of.

“I said what are you doing here?” Tenten tilted her head.

Sakura stared for a moment. Something was off. Tenten’s eyes were completely white, no iris to be seen.

“Am I dreaming?” She murmured to herself.

“C’mon, I know I’m gorgeous but, really!” Tenten laughed mirthfully at her own joke.

“N-No, I mean, your eyes.” Sakura urged, concerned for herself and her friend.

“Oh! Whoops, I didn’t even think about that.” Tenten frowned and blinked with great difficulty. Suddenly the teddy bear eyes Sakura knew her so well for were back and she smiled sweetly. Sakura’s stomach fluttered a bit and she tried to contain the fluster that was trying to happen. “Sorry, so, explanation, right?”

“Yes. Starting with where I am…” Sakura rubbed her arm a little, leaning back against her tree. Tenten was someone she felt she could trust, but if this was some sort of trick... her fingers flexed lightly over the cold metal of her gun. 

“Well, that’s a tough one.” Tenten made a pointing gesture vaguely, apparently oblivious to Sakura's suspicion. “I don’t know where you are, but we’re technically in your dreams.”

“So you’re my subconscious or something?” Sakura said, unamused with herself. Why Tenten? Certainly, she knew the girl well enough, even considered her a friend, but why would her mind chose to conjure her up now?

“Oh, nonono. Nothing like that.” Tenten waved her hands then tugged on her sleeve. “I’m a Baku, I noticed a bit of… well, this tree…” She said, not sure what to say first. “Lee, Neji, Gai-sensei, and I are in Aokigahara forest. We’re going on, and I quote. ‘The Best Hiking Trip of All Time That’s Ever Existed Since Our Last One!’” She made a face.

“Wait, so… how did I get out here?” Sakura asked. "Aokigahara? That's a bit far from Kyoto..."

“Oh, you’re not _actually_ out here, you’re just… your energy is drawn to _this_ tree, so I pretended to pass out so I could check it out. Sometimes people will come out here to kill themselves and their spirits need a nudge in the right direction to detach from the forest.” Tenten informed her with a little nod towards the tree. Sakura shivered.

“So… You’re not a human.” Sakura said lamely, not sure what else to say. "You're a Baku... dream-eater, right?"

“No, and evidently neither are you.” Tenten sighed, looking at her curiously. “I know it’s rude to ask, but I’m dying over here, please tell me!”

“O-Oh, no I’m human.” Sakura laughed nervously. “It’s just, I’m around these things so often, it must have rubbed off on me. It happens a lot.”

“So you’re a hunter?” Tenten said, almost nervously. The thought made her uncomfortable as her kind wasn’t normally welcome by hunters. Then again, most Baku were aggressive leeches.

“Yes.” Sakura said with some uncertainty, looking at Tenten. “Speaking of, I need to get back—oh god, Naruto and Sasuke are in danger!” She stood at full height suddenly, eyes wide as her heart picked up.

“From what?” Tenten asked. “Aren’t you guys on vacation—oh my goodness, is that a Remington?!” Tenten squeaked when she noticed the butt of a gun sticking out of Sakura’s belt.

“O-Oh. Yeah, you know about guns?” Sakura asked hesitantly.

“Know about them? I’m practically a fanatic.” Tenten twirled a stray piece of hair, flushing a bit. She reached for it but stopped herself. “May I?”

“Yeah, sure.” Sakura shrugged and handed it to her.

“Wow, it’s old… really old. Even for a M1911, this thing has got to be at least 40 years old. Did Tsunade-san give it to you?”

“No, I bought it from this _person._ ” She said vaguely, not really sure if she could even call the Shadow Creep a person.

“So, are you vacationing at a range or something? Did you guys go to another country?” Tenten asked, curious as to where she could buy a gun legally in Japan. She didn’t seem like the type to do shady things.

“No! We’re on a hunting trip—oh god, the Jikininki!” Sakura blabbed helplessly, heart pounding painfully in her chest. Sakura grew dizzy and swayed a bit as her energy was drawn between her waking state and her sleep. She braced herself against her tree but fell backwards against it.

Tenten knelt beside her. She’d seen it a hundred times.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here. There’s no Jikin-something.” Tenten informed her, rubbing her shoulder carefully. “You’re just panicked.”

The reassuring words didn’t help. Sakura nearly passed out, but after a while, the feelings passed and she was observing the serene forest around her again. She was sweating now, and shaking. There was a tingling feeling in her fingers and toes and something felt inherently wrong.

“Ah. You’re waking up.” Tenten noticed. She smiled. “Be safe, Sakura-chan.”

“Wait—“ Sakura scrambled, grabbing Tenten’s arm. “Can you visit me tonight? I want to talk, and I don’t have cell service.”

“O-Oh…” Tenten hesitated, but nodded. “Yeah, sure!” She smiled brightly, excited by the invitation. This whole thing had been rather odd. 

This hadn’t explained anything Sakura wanted it to.

Sakura smiled shyly and hesitated as the world around her dissolved until everything was dark. Her head hurt. Her tongue felt like sand paper.

“Sakura! You’re awake, good, we need to move. There was a screeching, are you ready to move? Should we stay?” Naruto rambled on.

“No, I’m good, let’s go.” Sakura determined and sat up quickly, grabbing her gun at a speed that startled Naruto back. She was on her feet in an instant, ready to find the son of a bitch. The sun was at its highest point in the sky, she noticed. “Wait, no, we’re walking straight into a trap.” She grabbed the two by the backs of their shirts as they attempted to dart out in front of her. “Look at what time of day it is.”

“So?!” Sasuke hissed, unamused by the uncomfortable yank.

“It’s midday. Jikininki hunt at night.” She informed them and they stopped straining. “Either it’s not a Jikininki, or its baiting us.”

“Well, let’s get in Formation B and hunt the damn thing!” Naruto insisted.

“No. We have three days to do this. We need to think about every action carefully. It could very well be our last.” Sakura informed them. Sasuke nodded a bit.

“Alright, I brought these Telecom Devices.” Sakura dug around in her bag for a moment before handing each of them one. “The signal jammers shouldn’t work on these.”

“You sure?” Sasuke hummed.

“In theory. They should also be enough to cover the entire grounds. I know I said we wouldn’t split up, but…” Sakura rubbed her head, ache still spreading throughout her skull. “We need to operate under the assumption that this creature is intelligent enough to trap us.” She said, drawing her gun and examining it with a bit of thought.

“You’re thinking it will come to us quicker if we split up.” Sasuke said. “Sakura, you are talking a bit in circles, perhaps we should find somewhere safe and simply rest.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Sakura said after a moment, but kept her gun only tucked into her belt for quick access. “We should make a base and set up a couple of cameras anyway.” Sakura nodded lightly and handed the small tech bag to Naruto.

He was still staring at her, but he took it hesitantly. He strapped the singular ear piece in and positioned his mic, giving it a small test. Sakura nodded. He hesitated before looking around.

“We should all go.” Sasuke suggested.

“One of us has to set up the monitor and I’m the one with a laptop. But, you’re right. Naruto shouldn’t go alone. You go with him.” Sakura nodded. She gestured towards the map Sasuke had tucked into his pocket. “I’m heading to the main residential building. There was a large amount of humans available there so I’m going to bet the Jikininki steered clear. It is their instincts to avoid crowds, after all.”

“Fine.” Sasuke said after a moment. “I’ll go with Naruto, but… don’t hesitate to contact us, alright? We’ll be here quicker than you think.” Sasuke promised, gripping Sakura’s arm to get her full attention. Sakura stared for a moment. He looked so mature when he was being serious. She gave a small, weary smile.

Sakura waved them off and pulled up a mental image of the map before taking off in another direction, gun in hand.

The staff who saw the three avoided them aptly. The creature seemed to be stalking them, and though they wanted to intervene and let them know, it was a real ‘us vs. them’ type of deal, where the ‘us’ could end up eaten instead of the ‘them’.

She slinked into the abandoned house, an eerie feeling surrounding her. She was wise enough to note that as she opened up her laptop and connected it to a program linked to the cameras. Naruto had already put one up in the main courtyard, overlooking the vast gardens. Another came online as she set up a small workspace.

“Sakura on.” Sakura said into the small mic. “After you set up, join at Base.” She said succinctly, knowing the cheap technology didn’t do well for long sentences. “Lunch. Sakura off.”

“Sasuke on. We have six left. Sasuke off.”

“Naruto on. Sasuke’s a show off.”

…

“Naruto off.”

Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes, standing up and stretching as gradually, over the next hour, all of the cameras were connected. Sakura had taken that time to explore the house. There were indeed trap doors, hidden panels, and all other manner of suspicious hiding spots in the Hyuga’s main residential house. She also noticed how terribly traditional it was. It felt like it had simply been preserved from the 1700’s.

“Naruto on. Movement! East Wing House. Naruto off.”

Sakura’s heels dug into the wood as she sprinted back to base, landing in front of her laptop on the floor and checked the DVR footage.

It was ugly. It was so ugly that she felt sick to her stomach.

“Sakura on. Get out of there. It’s there. It’s a Jikininki, about your height, Sasuke. Non-humanoid. Lost cause. Shoot on sight. Sakura off.”

Naruto swallowed thickly. It hadn’t been long before he spotted it himself. Well, spotted what he determined was a tail brushing against the manicured grass. He was frozen with a fear that washed over him. He simply stared as it turned and looked from its place in the shadow of the tall wall. Its eyes were remorseful, but tainted. Naruto’s fingers twitched with the urge to draw his gun and shoot, but he couldn’t find the ability. It took a step forward before an arrow whirred past Naruto’s ear and struck the Jikininki.

“I missed.” Sasuke hissed as the arrow impaled into the creature’s shoulder.

The Jikininki screeched in pain. It was a terrible, blood curdling sound, like the creak of hardwood in a should-be empty home. It was the sound of unknown fear itself. Naruto’s breath caught and he finally pulled his gun, but it was too late.

“Naruto, are you alright?” Sasuke jumped down from his perch and sped over to his best friend. Naruto swayed with dizziness, but Sasuke caught him, arm around his shoulders, one hand pressed against Naruto’s chest worriedly.

“It’s… it’s stare.” Naruto stammered, leaning against Sasuke gratefully.

“Sakura on. Are you two alright? Sakura off.”

“Sasuke on. We’re fine. Spooked. Sasuke off.”

“Yes, the Jikininki has the ability to paralyze some with only his gaze.” Sasuke said with concern, squeezing Naruto’s shoulder lightly as a show of worry. Naruto’s blue eyes were unusually pale.

“Like seeing a thousand deaths.” Naruto whispered, slowly coming to. He winced. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. You’re safe.” Sasuke said evenly. He had felt the fear as well, but Naruto being in danger had overridden it and he was lucky enough to get a hit. “He’s injured, that’s what counts.”

“Right.” Naruto nodded, but didn’t believe that would be enough to slow it down. “Base?”

“Yes. It seems we missed breakfast, after all.” Sasuke said, hesitantly withdrawing from his companion.

“It’s weird they’re feeding us. It feels like they’re fattening us up for the monster.” Naruto laughed. Sasuke’s brow drew a bit at the implication.

“This whole thing seems wrong.” Sasuke said after a moment, speaking more to the fact Hiashi hired them and was treating them so oddly kindly.

“Well, it’s a cannibal demon from hell maybe so you know.” Naruto muttered bitterly.

“I was worried about you two.” Sakura greeted them at the door and ushered them into the empty room, void of furniture minus two chairs piled haphazardly in the corner. Sakura had chosen a separate corner for all of the tech. There were three meals laid out on the floor and the trio gathered around after confirming their perimeter seemed as safe as it would likely get.

“Sorry.” Naruto apologized through the silence as they ate.

“There’s no need to be sorry. I’m the one who seized up and put us behind schedule.”

“No one is at fault. Things happened and now we move on.” Sasuke said tersely, not wanting to hear either of them wallow in their failures.

Naruto and Sakura nodded lightly, and as the three finished eating, they reviewed their observances, notes, and photographs they took on their phones. They had gathered little information. There was some sort of snake spirit infecting the grounds, the Jikininki was too far gone to listen to reason, and the staff were steadily being picked off even with the three there, and in broad daylight no less, with no screaming, no fighting.

Sasuke sighed and stared at the map angrily. It was such an expansive estate, there should have been more of them. He polished his remaining fifty-nine arrows, but tipped each with a poison of Sakura’s creation that would encourage the rotting of flesh.

“So… what do we do?” Naruto said after a moment. The three looked pensive as now each of them began to realize their dire situation.

“We could have this cleared up much easier if we stayed the night and caught it then. The Jikininki will be bolder as the sun sets. We draw it out, we kill it, we collect our money, we go back to Tokyo.” Sakura said, making it sound simpler than it was.

“Right. But doing that puts us in danger.” Naruto added worriedly.

“We’re already in peril.” Sasuke said seriously. “Finishing this in one go would be a blessing.”

“I’d rather not be here any longer than absolutely necessary. This place gives me the creeps without the man-eating demon.” Sakura huffed, rubbing her ankle lightly. “I brought my sleeping bag. Did you two?”

“Yes,” They answered simultaneously. She smiled.

“Base locks, there aren’t any inlets, not even ventilation. We’re completely sealed in here. If Naruto wards it, then we’ll be safe in here.” Sakura reassured them. “Now, who is going to stay behind and watch, and which two of us are going to patrol?” She asked.

“Naruto should watch the cameras.” Sasuke suggested. Any protest Naruto had died in his throat and he resigned. “He’s proven he can’t act against the beast.” His words weren’t meant to be sharp but they jarred Naruto nonetheless.

“Fine. You and I will go on patrol.” Sakura nodded and gathered her weapons about her and tucked them into their correct placement.

“We will do a perimeter check before and after, and go through the buildings as well, this time.” Sasuke determined. Naruto nodded in affirmation, already pulling out a large scroll full of seals. He opened it and began looking for a fitting one.

Sasuke and Sakura took off, not quite sure if they needed to fill the silence. They walked along the wall, trying to find any sort of out of place sign of activity. There seemed to be nothing. Even when they went back to the forest (this time without incident), the body was gone, the blood was cleaned, as if nothing had ever gone wrong in that peaceful forest.

“I will allow you and the Kitsune to leave peacefully, if you give me the Uchiha.”

Sakura flinched, nearly ripping the ear piece from herself. She stared at it.

“Naruto, that isn’t fucking funny!” She shouted.

“Are we not doing the ‘naruto/sasuke/sakura on? Also, what isn’t funny?”

Sakura looked at Sasuke now for support, but he only had a portrait of confusion. Sakura hesitated, trying to determine if she had only heard the voice in her head. After all, they were in a situation of extreme stress, so an auditory hallucination would not be too farfetched but… Kitsune? The voice could only be referring to Naruto. Surely he would have informed her if he was such a thing.

Then she looked at Sasuke. Who had wanted him and why? It was clear it may have had something to do with his heritage, but…

“You’re in danger.” Sakura said flatly. “I know I’m not going crazy, but something just offered to let myself and Naruto walk out of here safely, should we hand you over.”

“I hope you weren’t planning on indulging such a whim.” Sasuke almost grinned. Their trust was iron.

“Of course not.” Sakura huffed. “It just means we have to hunt this Jikininki a little quicker, since it wants you.”

“Did it say why?” Sasuke asked, mentally filing away that it chose to communicate to Sakura rather than anyone else.

Sakura simply shook her head as they walked around the perimeter one more time. Sakura glanced at her watch. It was nearly 4pm. Naruto had yet to call and tell them about the creature’s location, which meant he hadn’t seen it.

They collected themselves at the base, discussing a plan of action in hushed tones as they went over their notes once more. Sakura usually had to push the two to come together like this and form a plan, but this time they were eager to do so.

“Alright,” Sakura said after a moment with knit brows. “So it’s obvious Sasuke has something this thing wants. Beyond flesh. Possibly something supernatural…”

Her thoughts fell to Madara and she shivered involuntarily.

“Right, so what do we do about that?” Sasuke asked, a bit annoyed.

“Blow its head off.” Naruto said immediately, abandoning his passivist position rather quickly. The other two didn’t feel the need to comment on the change as they shared sentiments. Sakura scratched her neck nervously and thumbed through a couple of papers she had written notes from research on.

Just as the sun was beginning to set, one of the jars of blood had been opened. A terrible noise filled the air of nearly the entire estate.

“Let’s go! That has to be East!” Sakura yelled, pulling her gun from her belt and already half way out of the door when the other two processed what she said and followed behind in Formation A, Sakura in front and the other two tailing behind her at staggered distances.


	7. The Venom of the Snake

“So, you investigated the… essentially, the _bomb_.” Tenten said, a bit horrified. She never imagined Sakura as the type to make such a scary thing. “And the thing actually drank all of the blood? That’s… _super_ gross.” Tenten lounged across the couch, laying her head casually in Sakura’s lap. She didn’t fail to notice the tinge of blush on the pink girl’s pale cheeks. She stretched out and interlocked her fingers behind her head, grinning toothily.

“Well, it is a cannibal beast, so I didn’t expect any less… what startles me is that it didn’t even pass out with the rather large amount of bleach on ammonia.” Sakura mused, leaning back against her couch. Tenten was rather casual with physical contact—which wasn’t entirely unwelcome, but surprised her. She looked around her living room, surprised that her brain chose that for her dream land.

“Right, and when you got there, did… did it attack you guys? Did you get it?” Tenten quirked a split brow and shut her eyes after a moment, a bit tired from an exhausting day of Lee and Gai’s constant competitiveness.

“It got away…” Sakura said after a moment, putting her fist up to her mouth in thought. “It came after Sasuke… but it tried to grab him, not attack him.”

“That’s weird. Maybe it’s that pretty face of his.” Tenten said idly.

“I think something is after him. Something… I’m guessing the snake spirit that is infecting the grounds, wants him for whatever reason.” Sakura worried, chewing the inside of her cheek. She wasn’t sure she should tell Tenten everything, but she seemed trustworthy.

“Snake spirit?” Tenten asked. ”Like what, Lamia, Naga, what’re we talking about?”

“That’s the thing.” Sakura said with hesitation. “I don’t… I can’t identify it. It had traits of various beings, but no particular identification."

Tenten looked up at Sakura. The girl was worried. “Hey, don’t sweat it. I’m sure it’s some low level yokai. Otherwise it would've been hunted already by those Akatsuki guys. They wipe out any real danger as soon as it presents itself. Plus, something that wild--if it were any danger, the various organizations would've caught wind already and killed it.” Tenten reached up and patted her cheek lightly. Sakura smiled.

“I don’t remember what, but some associates of mine were talking about a snake spirit, and I am worried it may be intertwined with that. If I could just contact them.” Sakura sighed.

“You’ll be fine. You’re Sakura, after all. You could tear a motherfucker in half!” Tenten punched the air symbolically.

“Since when did you become such a potty mouth?” Sakura giggled. They hadn’t hung out much since they were little, but she heard a couple of things about Tenten. She had the nation’s title for high school kendo competitions, and was a renowned archer, possibly better than Sasuke. Other things she heard, was about the girl’s feverish need to fight. It showed, too. The girl was littered with tiny scars, here and there. The most prominent (and roguishly attractive, Sakura would admit) was a split in her left brow, from what was likely a particularly painful blow that split the skin roughly.

“Hm,” Tenten pretended to ponder the question. “Maybe a couple of years ago.” She shrugged and stared up at the ceiling. “Probably when I started doing underground fights for cash.” She smirked. Sakura averted her eyes quickly. That was such a charming sight she was afraid she would fluster if she looked at it too long.

“That’s not a _good_ thing, Tenten. Don’t look so smug.” Sakura chided. Tenten snorted lightly.

“My new car says otherwise.” She hummed.

“How do you even have a car? Do you have a license?” Sakura raised a brow and looked down at her. Tenten thought about a good reply. Something sarcastic or witty. She made a face.

“Well, not yet.” She simply stated, puffing her cheeks a bit. “But once I move out of Meguro, I will.”

“You’re moving?” Sakura asked, a bit more urgently.

“Yeah. I’m moving to Ikebukuro. OR Shinjuku.” Tenten pointed idly in the air. “I have it narrowed down to two condos. It'd cut my commute time down to the ring.”

“You must make quite a bit off of those fights.” Sakura said with a tinge of jealousy. Maybe she should take it up? After all, how many biology specialists did the world really need?

“Yep! I haven’t lost one yet. It’s a good thing Lee doesn’t know. He’s the only one who can kick my ass…. say, we should spar, sometime.” Tenten nodded proudly and grinned up at her eagerly.

“Only if you promise not to break my nose.” Sakura chuckled.

“I could never hit your nose! It’s too cute.” Tenten hummed and pressed her thumb against Sakura’s nose, smirking as the girl’s cheeks almost instantly lit up with red. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

“No.” She huffed and covered her face, glaring down at her.

“Say, why were you attached to that tree in Aokigahara?” Tenten asked curiously, a slight tilt to her head.

“I have no idea, but that tree had me trapped it felt like.” Sakura said nervously. The feeling of the ache returned to her and she looked back to Tenten’s brown eyes which bore into her own.

“Maybe I should ask Kaka-sensei.” Tenten hummed, putting a hand up to her mouth as she accidentally outed their principal.

“Alright, this is getting ridiculous. Is everybody I know secretly some paranormal creature or another?” Sakura leaned over, a bit annoyed with the turn of events. “How did I never pick up on it?” Her hair curtained them as Sakura stared down at her.

“You’re perceptive, but not that perceptive.” Tenten snorted. “You know that Meguro is like… **the** place in Tokyo to live as a non-human?”

“No, I didn’t. Why is that?” Sakura asked.

“The Black Bird watches over all of us undesirable monsters.” Tenten smiled sadly up at her human friend. Sakura’s brow knit with worry.

_Surely Tenten didn’t think she was a monster?_

“Who’s the Black Bird?” Sakura asked, afraid to touch a nerve.

“We have no idea.” Tenten looked away, staring at the freckled ceiling, littered with the light marks of age and decay. “We believe he’s a tengu, maybe the first, but his temple is in Meguro so he keeps the radicalist hunters away.”

“Does it bother you that I am human?” Sakura asked, a bit more boldly.

“Only if it bothers you that I am a monster.” Tenten smiled bitterly. Sakura glared down at her now and pinched her cheek. Tenten hissed in pain and covered both cheeks. “What’s your damage?” That was a surprisingly effective attack.

“You aren’t a monster.” Sakura asserted. “You’re not a human, but that does not make you a monster! Monsters kill for fun.”

“Alright, alright—owww! Stop pinching me! That’s a bitch move!” Tenten complained, lightly swatting her hands away. “Alright, I’m not a monster.” She breathed, perturbed as to why the word bothered her so much. “Could it be that you care about little old me? Don’t fall in love with me yet! I’m a bad boy type!” Tenten winked and Sakura huffed, abruptly rolling her off her lap and into the floor.

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind.” Sakura smirked down at Tenten who was complaining in some other language. Sakura ran a hand through her pink hair. “I didn’t know you spoke Mongolian.”

“My father was Mongolian, it was my mother who was Chinese.” Tenten informed her. “I was raised there and came to Japan after they passed.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know they passed.” Sakura worried she might had hurt her. Tenten only smiled as usual, like nothing in the world could ever hurt her.

“Hey, it’s one more thing we have in common, except well,” Tenten sat up, looking at Sakura through her lashes, cross legged in front of her but still on the floor. “My dad wasn’t such a great guy. He fucked with some people and ended up stealing the life force of a couple of people. He was hunted. Mom tried protecting him, but, well…” Tenten coughed a bit and scratched her neck. “At least they let me live, right? Now I take out all that hereditary aggression on people who know it’s coming.” She grinned proudly.

Sakura felt enormously guilty, simply for being a hunter. Her heart hurt.

“Hey, don’t sweat it.” Tenten reached up and put a hand on her knee. “I know not all hunters are bad. My dad had it coming. Empedocles’ Law of whatever.”

“Still.” Sakura muttered and sighed, putting her chin in her folded hands which rested on her knees. Her face was much closer to Tenten’s now. “Oh right, I meant to ask, um…” Sakura’s face tended to redden in the cutest ways, Tenten noted.

“What is it?” Tenten asked, oblivious.

“You… want to spar Sunday? If you’re free?” Sakura asked, lowering her head a bit and glancing away, afraid to make eye contact.

“Yes!” Tenten shouted and grabbed Sakura’s face, giving her an exaggerated kiss on the cheek. Sakura knew it was simply an amicable gesture she had picked up from Ino, but Sakura was certain if she blushed anymore it would burn her.

“Ah, it feels like I’m waking up now.” Sakura muttered. “Well, I should wrap up this Jikininki thing if I want to get back in time!”

“Please be safe, Sakura-chan.” Tenten hummed, brows knitting in worry as the two faded from the room.

Sakura groaned as Naruto nudged her awake. They slept in three hour rotations, and now that it was near midnight, the three woke and prepared for their hunt. According to the camera, now showing everything in a wash of green, the Jikininki was much more active, openly wandering around.

Sasuke outstretched a hand to help her up. She took it with a grateful nod and stretched her arms above her head. Sakura checked to make sure her gun was loaded and tucked it loosely into her belt.

The three prepared in relative silence, the shuffling of fabric and occasional scrape of blade filled the small room that became their base.

“Let’s end this tonight.” Sakura said solemnly. “Then we need to get back.”

“I agree. The less time we spend here, the better.” Sasuke ground out. “Something feels very wrong. You don’t think we were set up, do you?”

Sakura stared at him for a moment, eyes wide with the thought. She swallowed her fear and stared at her feet.

“I didn’t think about that.” She admitted. “Should… we call for backup?”

“We should. Especially considering we’re dealing with more than one spirit, but if we leave the compound, we may not have the chance that we do now. It’s best to assume this thing is intelligent and has let its guard down around us with the knowledge we were sent here for it.” Sasuke said after a moment of thought. “It wanted me, right?”

“That’s what it said.” Sakura nodded.

“I’ll go out as bait, and you to will follow and kill it.” Sasuke said quietly, strapping his bow to his back.

“That’s dangerous. Shouldn’t we stick together?” Naruto worried, grabbing Sasuke’s sleeve to stop him mid-action. It succeeded in making Sasuke pause and look at Naruto.

“I am more capable than you think.” Sasuke informed them with a knit brow. Naruto grimaced, but nodded. When it came to getting what they wanted, Sakura and Sasuke were downright impossible to deal with. Part of him admired that, but the logical part of him really hated it.

“I’ll be close, though.” Sakura informed him.

“I should hope so. I don’t trust your aim.” Sasuke snorted in amusement and made a gesture at her gun. “I’ve seen you play First Person Shooters. Before you fire, please press the gun against the Jikininki.”

“Watch it or my aim might improve.” Sakura growled, but couldn’t conceal her grin.

“Let’s go, I can smell it near.” Naruto said, opening the door carefully, as though it would be standing right there.

“Alright, I’ll go out ahead, Sasuke will be in the middle, appearing to be alone, and Naruto you will follow behind him.” Sakura decided, taking a step out in front. She felt an invigorating fear grip her and she led her friends from the base, watching carefully in the dark. She used a flash light to show her the way, knowing it gave away their position.

Sasuke follow not long after she left, gaining distance between the two. He wanted to grasp his bow, but the creature would be soon in such a close range that the gun was really his only option, so he held it steadily in his hands, more for comfort than anything. He hesitated when he could no longer hear Sakura’s footsteps. Had he not been following close enough? He stopped in his tracks and looked behind him for any sign of Naruto, only to find none.

He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He continued to walk in the direction he suspected Sakura of having. Fear overcame him, but he kept a mask of cold aloofness. A shiver ran up his spine, and something told him someone was near. His eyes widened now and he looked around, catching a glimpse of someone behind him. It was a person standing half behind a tree, grinning at him wickedly.

“Come out.” Sasuke demanded, aiming the gun directly at them. “Come out and state your business. Are you staff?”

“Oh, dear.” The man purred, stepping out and slowly approaching Sasuke in such a way that made Sasuke’s entire being freeze in place. “Put that away. That’s no way to treat a friend.” His voice was high pitched and dripped with venom. “I’m here to help you.”

“Bullshit.” Sasuke accused, finding the feeling in his hands to begin receding. “Stay right there, don’t come any closer.” Sasuke warned. The man ignored his words, so Sasuke fired a warning shot into his leg. His aim wasn’t great with a gun, but it was good enough.

The man didn’t flinch. His smile only seemed to get wider, revealing far too many teeth.

“So hostile, Sasuke…” The man said, feigning remorse. “Don’t you know I’m a friend?”

“I’ll put one in your head if you come any closer.” Sasuke growled and narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

“My name is Orochimaru, little one.” He said evenly. “I’m here to help you.”

“I don’t need any help. Are you the one infecting this place?” Sasuke asked, realizing the serpentine features.

“Infecting? No, no, I was invited.” Orochimaru hummed, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly. Long black hair draped itself elegantly, belying some sort of glamor he was holding up.

“Where is the Jikininki you’ve been feeding?” Sasuke said quietly, finally putting the pieces together. Orochimaru made a noise of amusement that sounded more like a hiss.

“There’s that Uchiha genius. My, I could really use that, you know.” Orochimaru took a few more steps and moved just faintly out of the as Sasuke fired another shot at his head.

“You’re likely the one who contacted Sakura as well,” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Orochimaru merely nodded, bored with the direction of their conversation. “What do you want?”

“Why, Sasuke, I want you of course.” Orochimaru let out a small chuckle.

“Right, why?” Sasuke growled, hands shaking with fear. He looked around. Hadn’t the sound of gunfire alerted the other two? Unless…

“Oh, don’t worry about them.” Orochimaru hummed. “They’re alive, for the time being.” He said lowly, smile fading now. “I want you to come with me, Uchiha.”

Something stirred in Sasuke that felt decidedly primal. He put his gun away, deciding it was indeed useless against this particular creature. “Where are they?”

“They’re hidden here in this lovely estate.” Orochimaru shrugged, eyeing the Uchiha with a bit of dread. He was certain Sasuke didn’t know his heritage, but he’d be in trouble of Sasuke decided to attack with those talons of his. “With my little Jikininki.”

Sasuke felt something tingling in his hands as a blind rage boiled beneath the surface of his skin. He looked down at his hands. Small feathers began to poke beneath his skin, emerging slowly. He felt oddly calm.

“Hm.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the fear in Orochimaru’s eyes. “I was almost certain I was human, but something about my clan, right?”

“You needn’t attack.” Orochimaru said sternly, though his voice was placating. This was getting bad. He was weakened as this host as well was rejecting him. HE let out a small growl of annoyance and his neck stretched at an alarming speed.

Sasuke flinched back, but it was too late. Orochimaru bit into the side of his throat, fangs piercing his skin roughly. Sasuke let out a scream and attempted to grab his attacker, though he was slowly going limp. He heard gunshots, then yelling. He sat a flash of orange, then pink. His vision darkened around the edges and he barely caught glimpse of Naruto in front of him, trying to wake him out of whatever was happening.

“You bastard!” Naruto screamed at Orochimaru as Sasuke lost consciousness. Naruto caught his friend and carefully laid him down on the ground before turning to the demon Sakura was grappling with. His head had returned to his body, but he was beginning to sprout scales all over.

Sakura grabbed his neck and slammed him into a tree. She held him there despite how he tried to slither away. He chuckled darkly as she pressed the gun to his head.

“What did you do to him? You have five seconds to answer.” Her voice was low, rage hiding her deep rooted fear and concern. Orochimaru smirked.

“I blessed him.” Orochimaru said.

“I don’t like your answer.” Sakura said quietly, firing once and staring in surprise as he was still moving around in her grasp. He managed to catch her off guard and slink out of her hold.   
He barely got away before she grabbed his hair and yanked him back, slamming her fist into his ear and causing him to stagger, grasping the side of his head and looking at her in fury. His arm shot out at her and she moved just in time to avoid the blade that was aimed to stab her in the chest. Instead, it sliced so deeply in her arm, she fear she would see bone if she looked.

She didn’t let it stop her from attacking him. She managed to get a couple more hits in, breaking bones as she did. Though every time she hit him, he would click back into place. Eventually he got far enough away that instead of countering her attacks, he turned and fled at an inhuman speed she could simply not keep up with.

She ran after him, shooting until her gun clicked dryly, nothing left to fire. “Damnit!” She screamed and ran to Sasuke, looking him over.

Naruto was sobbing and clinging to him.

“I-Is he alright?” Sakura asked warily, kneeling on the other side of Sasuke. She subtly checked his pulse. He was alive. She flicked her flash light on and looked at him. Her eyes widened lightly. “Tengu.”

“Yes,” Naruto nodded lightly. “Which, wouldn’t be a problem, but that snake bastard bit him, and he seems like he’s in a lot of pain.”

“We need to get him to his family. They’ll know what to do.” Sakura decided and picked up Sasuke with ease. “Please, go gather our things.” She asked carefully. Naruto wiped his tears away quickly, shamed by his own emotional display. He nodded and ran off as fast as he could. He was back in moments with their possessions, shouldering all three bags. Sakura walked towards the large gate.

It took them ten minutes to get to the gate, and when they did, they found it locked.

“We truly were set up.” Sakura hissed. She would retaliate for this, though how she wasn’t sure yet.

Naruto grabbed some sort of leather pouch from his pocket and knelt by the lock.

“This can usually only be opened up remotely, but…” Naruto pulled a magnet out as well and began working on the lock.

“How and why you know that is beyond me.” Sakura smiled lightly, trying to break the tension. Sasuke stirred in her arms and looked up at her blearily. She smiled at him. “Ah, good, you’re awake.”

The gate made a horribly loud buzzing noise and scraped open. The three quickly left, getting further down the blank road that led solely to and from the estate. After an hour of walking, they came upon Kyoto and the signals returned to their phones. They were much higher up than the rest of the city, though the area they were in consisted only of temples. Sakura laid Sasuke down gently and scrolled through her contacts.

“Uchiha Itachi speaking.” A voice came over the other end, groggy and low with sleep.

“Itachi-san, sorry to call you so late. It’s your brother.” Sakura said carefully. A worried silence took Itachi’s end. “He’s been injured, possibly poisoned, please, we have no way of getting back. We need help.”

“I will be there in ten minutes.” He promised and hung up.

“Why’d you call my brother?” Sasuke managed, voice thick and heavy.

“Look at your hands, Sasuke.” Naruto said carefully, grasping on tightly and holding it up for Sasuke to see. As his eyes opened fully, the two noticed that his eyes had taken a bright, nearly glowing crimson color.

“Ah.” He said simply. He examined his hands carefully, noting how his fingers had elongated and grown into talons, how feathers sprouted in a pattern he couldn’t predict from his hands to his arms.

He looked down at the way Naruto had held his hand with such concern and care. He stared at where Naruto’s darker skin clashed against his own.

“Sorry.” Naruto said simply and withdrew his touch. Sasuke regretted that, but said nothing.

Sakura looked around, brows knit.

“How is Itachi going to know where we are?” She asked herself, arms crossed.

There was a beating of wings. A crow landed on her shoulder and she eyed it warily before realizing. “Oh. Okay.”

Slowly, a murder of crows gathered around the three before a much louder cadence of wings fell through the air. Itachi’s wings dissipated from where they had begun, leaving large holes in the back of his shirt. He padded over to Sasuke quickly and knelt beside him.

“His name was Orochimaru.” Sasuke said quietly. It took him a great amount of energy but he reached up and touched the bite on his neck. Inky black marks had formed here. “I’m not sure what he did.”

“Orochimaru,” Itachi repeated quietly. His voice was low and deadly and murderous intent came off of him in waves. “Sakura, please use my phone to call the last contact in my list.” He handed her his phone and turned his attention back to Sasuke, pain in his eyes.

“R-Right.” Sakura said hesitantly, scrolling through the contacts until a name she didn’t recognize was there. Well, it was the last. She pressed the screen and held the phone up to her ear.

“Sasuke, you must stay awake.” Itachi informed him. “Do not fall asleep.” He said more firmly when Sasuke’s eyes closed. Sasuke made a noise of annoyance and glared at him. Itachi examined the curse mark, but came to no conclusions. “Why did he do this to you?”

“He said he was helping me, but I’m seriously doubting it.” Sasuke said, a bit of mirth in his voice. Itachi’s quietness was different than his normal near-silence. It was frightening.

“No, I recognize this.” He said after a moment. “I recognize this.” He repeated and narrowed his eyes towards Naruto and Sakura. He didn’t voice it, but he was enraged that Sakura let this happen. She felt that blame thoroughly, if her posture was any indication. She had failed Sasuke and that hung heavily in her mind.

“H-Hello, this is Haruno Sakura speaking from Uchiha Itachi’s line, I was instructed to call you.” She said awkwardly. She was always terrible with phone calls.

“What has happened?” A male voice asked, not bothering with formalities.

“On a hunt, Itachi’s younger brother was attacked by some sort of snake spirit named ‘Orochimaru’.” She said, remembering his name after a moment.

“Where are you?” He asked.

“Uhhh, it looks like…” Sakura looked around. “Ah, the large, unnamed temple.” She said after a moment.

“I know which. Remain there. Tell Itachi _not_ to touch Sasuke.” He instructed and hung up.

She handed the phone back idly and looked around. “T-The man warned not to touch him.”

Itachi withdrew his hands obediently but his expression grew with worry and rage.

“I’m sorry.” Sakura said after a moment.

“There was nothing you could have done.” Sasuke informed her. “Shooting him in the head didn’t work, and your monstrous strength can only do so much against someone like that.”

Itachi stared between the two incredulously. “You shot him and he survived?”

“It didn’t even seem to slow him down.” Sasuke nodded weakly, hissing in pain as the curse mark pulsed and grew, spreading inky blotches along his skin.

“I see.” Itachi said after a moment, then stared at the curse mark, heart pounding painfully in his chest as his younger brother suffered.

Luckily it didn’t take long for a man to appear seemingly out of thin air. Though nothing surprised the three at this point.

Sakura took a moment to determine if he was friend or foe. He had piercings lining his nose and lips, and deep silver eyes that almost seemed to catch a lavender tone. His eyes fell to her for only a moment before they went to Itachi and Sasuke. He indicated for Naruto to move and the boy did, but not before grumbling about it.

“Sasuke Uchiha, do you remember what this person looked like?” He said in a deep baritone that surprised the three. Sakura watched, a bit intrigued by the stranger. He was so far from human that it was tantalizing. Something in her felt a deep rooted companionship for something in him and it made her furrow her brow. Apparently it was a shared sentiment because for a moment, he gave her a confused look. His eyes were bottomless and full of life all at once. Sakura felt herself unable to look away. Luckily, he did, turning his attention back to the newly discovered black bird.

“Yeah. Pale, hair like a kejoro, neck like a rokurokubi, traits of various other yokai and I think some sort of snake spirit.”

“Ah. Orochimaru, indeed.” The man almost spat the name hatefully. The air around them shifted. Naruto gripped onto Sakura’s arm for some sort of refuge from it, and even Itachi seemed to waver uncomfortably. Sakura stared at the man.

He had hair like a deep orange sunset and eyes like a void, but he was so full of life that it was enchanting. Despite her best attempts to ignore such things, he brought out the feeling of loneliness Sakura had done so well at burying before. Sakura couldn’t shake the feeling they had met. Perhaps before. Perhaps another life.

“We’ll need to get you to Anko.” He said after a moment. “She’ll be able to take care of this. She’s a witch in Los Angeles.”

“Los Angeles?” Itachi said hesitantly. “Will he make it that far?”

“Yes, I will take him personally.” The man decided, standing at his full height, towering over the four others. “Fox, Cherry, you will accompany us.”

“Thank you, Pein.” Itachi bowed deeply. Pein waved dismissively and looked down at Sasuke.

“Are you able to stand?” He asked.

“I’m sure I can.” Sasuke nodded and braced himself against Itachi’s arm as it was offered. He drug himself up to his feet and staggered for a moment. He was just about to fall when Sakura walked over and scooped him up. He gave her a look, cheeks reddening like an indignant child. “Now’s no time to show off, Sakura.”

“This is no time to hurt yourself further.” She said sternly and looked to Naruto to take her side.

“W-Well, she’s right about not straining yourself.” Naruto said, looking away quickly to avoid one or the other’s scrutiny.

Sasuke sighed deeply, resigning weakly as he didn’t particularly feel fit to argue his point at this given time. He simply resigned to pout and glare up at Sakura as he belatedly noticed she was completely drenched in blood. Though he did it subtly, he looked for any wound on herself, finding none.

“Alright. I will transport us.” Pein said after speaking briefly with Itachi. Itachi smiled at Sakura and Naruto reassuringly, but the two didn’t quite buy into the idea of comfort quite yet. “Come.” He gestured the two over. “Itachi, please remain here in Kyoto and search for Orochimaru.”

“Yes.” Itachi inclined his head respectfully and paused before wide wings sprouted once again and he jumped, taking to the sky and heading towards the Hyuga estate.

“I will need to make physical contact with you to transport you with me.” He leaned in and told the two, grabbing them by the shoulders. Naruto flinched openly. For whatever reason, his touch was immensely painful, but he dealt with it.

Sakura stared openly as when his hand landed on her shoulder she felt an odd sense of comradery. Her brow knit uncomfortably when she saw the pain it gave Naruto then she looked down at Sasuke to see him passed out once more.   
  
“I apologize for any discomfort.” Pein said, looking down at Naruto. “I know it can hurt with some creatures.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto. It seemed he was something else, then? Would everybody she was close to turn out to be a non-human?

“Here we are.” Pein said and let go of them. They hadn’t even realized they were moved but they were struck with the bright light of early day. Once their eyes adjusted they noticed that they were most certainly not in Japan. They were in a crowded street that looked busy but diplapidated.

“Welcome back, Zeus, what the hell can I do for you today?” A loud female voice called. Naruto and Sakura looked around for a moment before spotting Pein leaning down to greet a rather short woman with an amicable hug.

“Don’t call me Zeus, that’s insulting.” Pein said with a wry smile.

“Got it, Hera.” Anko smirked. “Where’s that pretty angel of yours? You guys haven’t been here in ages! And this is her city even!”

“I’m afraid we’re back for less than good reasoning. This boy, he’s been bitten.”   
  
“Bitten? What’re we talking here? Vampire? Werewolf? Spider whore?” Anko began guessing, looking at the three young adults.

“Orochimaru.” Pein said flatly.

“ _Oh... Fuck_. Come inside.” She opened the stained glass door to her shop. As they walked in they were struck with the scent of live plants and incense. Sakura stepped in first, carrying Sasuke. Naruto followed. “Let’s get him to the back.” Anko said and flipped the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’. She locked the door after everyone was in and led them past merchandise and books to a small room with an operating table. Sakura looked at Pein, who just nodded and like that, she set Sasuke on the table.

“Alright. This is going to hurt.” Anko warned. “Like a lot. Does anyone have any amphetamines or something? He’s going to need them.” She asked.

Pein gave her a look. She smiled almost innocently, situating the tooth pick she had been chewing on.

“Well, then.” She said after a long silence. “I guess we’ll jump right into it then.” Anko went over to a cabinet full of medical supplies. She grabbed a syringe and some morphine. “We’re doing this the back alley way. And this’ll cost you.” She waved the syringe at Pein before wiping Sasuke’s arm with an alcohol wipe. Sasuke opened his eyes deliriously and looked up at Naruto. He reached out and grabbed his hand, looking around in a daze.

Anko whispered something and suddenly the room felt suffocating. She thumbed the bite wound and the spreading curse mark. Her words seemed strained as though they hurt her. She moved Sakura aside and made her way to an intricately placed and decorated altar. Above the altar there was a mobile of sorts with all of the planets, revolving around the sun, their moons in orbit around them.

Her fingers danced over the metal as she situated it.

“Alright, now this is gonna be really fucked up lookin’, alright?” Anko looked directly at Naruto, sensing that if anyone would scream it would be him. “He’s a friend of mine.” Her smirk wavered into something like a concerned grimace. “He’s benevolent, I promise. Well…”

There was a long pause.

“Benevolent may be pushing it. He’s not evil, but I wouldn’t call him good…” Anko trailed on, setting up some sort of sigil on the ground next to Sasuke. “He’s kind of like Mister Pein over there. What’s that thing about morality alignment?” She hummed in thought. “Chaotic Neutral!” She determined, pointing at the tall man with orange hair. “Or something like that.” She shrugged and took a deep breath.

She took her athame from her altar and held out her tattooed arm. There were all sorts of sigils and scars littering her forearm. She made one more as she sliced open her arm, letting the blood sacrifice pour onto the concrete floor.

“Ego vocatio medicum, dux, sidus, habent autem nomine. Hoc nomen Buer.”

Her Latin was rough, but efficient.

“ _As I was saying,_ the other day I was with Belial and he had no idea about—“

Sakura had expected a puff of smoke, or a bright light, or at least some sort of shimmering in the air, but instead there simply was someone there. Standing in a puddle of Anko’s blood and looking rather confused. He was red, dressed in skins, eyes black and empty.

“Hm.” The demon. Looked around before spotting Anko and breaking a wide smile. He put his hands on his hips, bringing his shoulders up defensively. “Ah! My least favorite witch!” He said through gritted teeth.

“Oh come on! Let bygones be bygones! It’s been a whole twenty years!” Anko whined, making a pleading motion with her hands.

“Twnety years is no more than a blink to me, you insufferable summoner. I won’t forget what you did to me. Sealing me in that boy’s body.” He hissed. “If you weren’t Baphomet’s favorite little human, I’d skin you alive, over and over and over.”

“Buy me dinner first.” Anko teased, holding a cheek to her hand and faking a fluster. She didn’t hide the little blush that formed on her face.

Sakura stared at the interaction, not sure what to think was more odd about it. Anko’s clear hint of masochism and Satanic tendencies, or the demon speaking fluent Japanese. Anko must have noticed the disbelief because she jumped up and slung an arm around the demon, causing the tall, red skinned creature to slump with her weight. He growled at her, baring many rows of yellow, blood-stained teeth. She flicked one of the four horns on his head.

“This is _Buer_ , demon of healing, if you’d believe it.” She said, sticking her thumb towards the towering entity. “He speaks universal tongue, so that’s why you can understand him. Despite his spikey exterior.” She said, poking one of the literal spikes that line is collar bones and shoulders. “He’s a sweetheart who cares about individuals occasionally. He’d be a Lawful Neutral.”

“There you go again, classifying ancient deities into your silly morality allignments. None of what you say is true and your dumb and I hate you.” He listed, sticking out fingers as he counted off the reasons he didn’t want to help her. “What can you offer me in exchange for my services?”

“Well, Orochimaru injected his weird, gross venom in the boy so you can have that once you extract it.” Anko shrugged.

“Ah, Orochimaru.” Buer glowered. “He keeps summoning us. We keep turning him down but I can’t deny his knowledge would be useful.” Buer looked down at Sasuke who was staring up at him, delirious and horrified all at once.

Sakura gripped his other hand.

“But you’ll need to sweeten the deal. What do I want? Hmmm…” Buer looked at each one in the room. “I know! I want hair from him,” He pointed at Pein. “I want a whisker from him.” He pointed at Naruto, causing Sakura to look a bit perturbed. “Blood from her,” He pointed at Sakura. “And a three primary feathers from the boy.” He decided with a nod.

“A little greedy, aren’t you, Buer?” Anko huffed, swiping at Pein before the god could deny it. She had yanked out a lock of orange hair.   
  
“You--!!” Pein hissed, smacking Anko on her head. “You _insult_ me.”

“Yeah, yeah, divine _punish_ me.” Anko smirked at him, causing Pein to give her a disgusted look.

“Mine.” Buer hummed, plucking the hair from Anko’s outstretched palm and tossed it, having it vanish midair. “Whiskers, blood, feathers.”

“Whiskers?” Sakura echoed, looking at the strange markings on Naruto’s cheeks. “Those aren’t whiskers. Those are birthmarks.” She corrected.

“No, those are whiskers. I’m Hebrew, but I know my Japanese creatures.” Buer mocked her voice, point a finger at Naruto. “Give me a whisker or I won’t help your friend.”

“W-Well, if you know how to take it, go on, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Naruto challenged.

“You’re dense.” Buer said and narrowed all six of his black eyes at Naruto. “Stay still. I’m offended you make me harvest it myself, but I am already debased by this witch, **so**!”

Naruto noticed he was unusually chipper for how he expected a demon from some sort of hell to act. He couldn’t help the way he glowered and leaned away when the demon reached for him. For a moment, his vision blurred and in the red claws of the thing in front of him held a long whisker. Naruto gaped and felt his cheeks. Still skin… but then…

“And blood.” Buer looked to Sakura now. Sakura gave him a look before grabbing one of her karambits from her obi-styled belt and picked the point on her arm with the least nerves. The tall demon hunched over Sasuke and leaned towards Sakura, palm opening up under where the blade bit into her flesh. He watched eagerly and sniffed the air after she opened her skin. “Ah, virgin blood.” He smiled. “Even better.”

Sakura made a face. “I’d appreciate if everyone stopped announcing it every time they noticed.”

“Sassy and ugly!” Buer decided. “You can be one or the other, sapling!”

“Buer, don’t be mean to the girl.” Anko chided as Sakura bit her tongue. Buer was busy plucking feathers from Sasuke and waved away Anko’s words.

“Alright.” The demon hummed. An oddly human gesture. “Stand back.” Of the three claws on his hand, the one closest to his thumb elongated until it grew a thorn-like tip. He leaned over Sasuke and stuck the tip of his claw into the curse mark and murmured something in a tongue only Anko and Pein could understand.

Sasuke’s blood dripped from the claw and bubbled, sizzling against the exposure to the demonic presence. Naruto tightened his grip on Sasuke’s hand as Sasuke began to tremble in pain. His features shifted and his eyes shot open, a bright red replacing their distant black.   
  
A scream ripped from his throat. Naruto flinched and grabbed onto his hand with both of his own. Sasuke looked to Naruto, pain coursing through his addled brain, rendering rational thought worthless. He had his instincts and each and everyone told him to move, but his body wouldn’t let him. He was restrained. When he looked at his feet, he sat Sakura holding him at the ankles, some man he didn’t know holding his shoulders down, some women with eyes that were far too sharp holding his arms, and some sort of horrifying creature grinning down at him as he bled him.

Sasuke called for Naruto, then Sakura, unable to quite see their faces and locate them now, the searing pain blinding him. He thrashed against those who held him down. He didn’t see it, but he felt things crawling under his flesh, worming around and tearing skin and muscle and organs where they went. He flinched and cried and writhed in the white hot agony.

Buer grinned down at the boy, absorbing both the curse and his pain as they emanated from him. Slowly and meticulously, he let the curse spread a bit more before retracting it. He pulled what looked like a snake from the boy. It was glowing and translucent and wriggled as it was removed from forcibly. Sasuke seemed to relax, staring dead eyed at the ceiling. There was a void around him.

“He’ll need some time to recover.” Anko decided. “Thank you for your help, greedy old Buer.” She sang and patted the demon amicably on the shoulder.

“I detest your very existence.” Buer gave a little bow, collecting the ethereal snake as spoils and vanishing just as he came about, into thin nothingness. Sakura stared at the empty space, trying to wrap her head around everything that had just transpired. Anko gave her an award winning smile and a thumbs up that she didn’t feel entirely comfortable with.

“So, dear god-of-mine!” Anko smiled up to Pein. “How are you going to pay me for all I did for you today?”

“A pleasant disciple would take it as a blessing to be able to aid an entity of greater importance.” Pein’s voice was flat.

“Ah, but I’m not pleasant.” Anko waved her finger in the air. “Hmmm… how about one of these cute little kids?” She grinned at Naruto. “I’ve never met a fox spirit before.”

“I’m a human.” Naruto protested. Anko rolled her eyes.

“This is probably not the first time someone’s called you what you are. Either you’re in denial or you’re stupid, but either way it’s not a handsome look, so how about you just drop it.” Anko scolded.

“We are just now aware of his… being a Kitsune.” Sakura gave an apologetic look to Naruto. If this many people were saying it, it was bound to be truthful to some degree, but she couldn’t pinpoint how it had slipped by her, how he himself didn’t know. It turned out she didn’t know her friends well after all. A frown tugged at her lips. She felt like she had somehow failed them.

Well, she knew she failed Sasuke. He laid on the metallic surface, sweating and twitching in a way that made her insides churn with worry. The look in his now red eyes sickened her. He looked broken. Changed, if not shattered completely.

“He’ll be alright.” Anko assured the two, smiling between the fox and the girl. “He’ll need to take a couple of days off.”

“We should get you three back to Japan, though…” Pein crossed his arms over his chest. “That one will not survive if we try to travel now…”

“They can stay here with me and my apprentices!” Anko offered. “At a price, but it beats the prices for hotels in this city.”

“You’ve adopted apprentices?” Pein narrowed his eyes. “Why wasn’t I informed?”

“Now, now, I left the Akatsuki years ago.” Anko shook her head.

“Yes, under the guise of ‘retirement’.” Pein couldn’t help the small grin. The short woman was difficult in the most amusing ways.

“Well, retired to open a shop. I never liked hunting, but you guys are always welcome at my shop, at a discounted price even.” She hummed, teeth bared in a good gesture. “Say, Pein, how’d you come across these three?”

“They’re self-made hunters.” Pein said. Sakura detected what sounded like some sort of pride. “Prodigies is pushing it, but they’re quite good for their young ages.”

“Ah! Well, isn’t this fun.” Anko hummed, pinching Naruto’s cheek. “They’re tiny, little vicious hunters!”

“We’re not tiny.” Naruto mumbled.

“So are you recruiting them?” Anko asked. “If not, I’d love to—“  
  
“Anko, you have over stepped boundaries.” Pein informed her. He sighed and stared off into space before looking down at Naruto and Sakura. “Though, that’s an interesting form of segue.”

Sakura tilted her head, expression dripping to a practiced neutrality. Though she was unsure of the character of Pein, she was certain of the words to follow.

“I would like to offer you three a job.” His voice was even, but all of the sudden, Sakura avoided his eyes. “I am willing to make it part time until you graduate high school, but it would have to be full time after that.”

“W-Wait—“ Naruto’s brow knit.

“Ah. It seems he finally got it, Sasuke-kun.” Sakura murmured idly, a grin beginning at her lips.

“Wait!!” Naruto yelled, looking up at Pein with an expression of shock and slight tinge of horror. “You’re ‘god’!! You’re the admin on the Akatsuki!”

“Yes. I am the leader of the Akatsuki.” Pein deadpanned, having expected nothing else from ‘Fox’.

“And now you’re trying to get us to join your gang of shady characters!”

“It’s an organization. Not a gang.” Pein narrowed his eyes.

“I accept!” Naruto beamed, grabbing onto Sakura. “Accept with me!”

Sakura stared in what looked like disgust, but was actually surprise.

“I can’t just take a deal like that without thinking about it.” Sakura said. “I got accepted into Tokyo University, my goal since I was young.”

“So?! That doesn’t matter! You don’t even really _like_ the medical field, much less biology! You look happiest in combat, just like the character in my novel!” Naruto accused. Sakura made an embarrassed face.

“Shut up about your novel!” Sakura’s voice took on a higher pitched quality. “Now, enough! I need time to think and Sasuke can’t make his decision either—so!!” She immediately calmed and smiled up diplomatically at Pein. Pein’s eyes twitched ever so slightly in response. “If it would be alright, could we have a bit of time to decide?”

“Yes.” Pein said after a long moment. “I will return in three days to retrieve you and take you back to Tokyo, should he be able to make the trip.”

“Thank you.” Sakura bowed lightly out of respect. Pein gave a quietly amused huff.  
  
“ _You_ of all people shouldn’t bow to me.” He said.

Sakura stared up at him before averting her gaze. His stare was intense.

“ _Right, well, awkward pauses aside!_ ” Anko announced, that time in English. Sakura made another face. She was well versed in English, but hearing the sudden switch was jarring. Anko grinned at her before continuing in Japanese again. “My apprentices should be back soon, so let’s get you upstairs. Bring the dark duck, too.” She pointed at Sasuke. Sakura looked back towards Pein only that nobody was there.

“Dark duck.” Sakura echoed in amusement as she scooped up Sasuke, who had promptly passed out once again. “I suppose…” She mused, remember the hair cut he had so proudly in his younger years, then the feathers. She giggled lightly, but Naruto let out an almost obnoxious snort.

“This way!” Anko directed loudly, exiting the tiny room and guiding the two to a set of stairs. “My shop has a living space above! Now, I have a couple of free-roaming pets so don’t be too alarmed.”

At this, Sakura could safely assume she meant a large dog or a couple of cats, the type of mean cats that would require warning. What she wasn’t expecting was the actual bear that slept soundly on the living room floor. The bear looked up and regarded them briefly before lowering its head and falling back asleep. Sakura stared for a moment, before pinching her arm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

She also didn’t expect the two… three… _four_ **pythons** that coiled around separate pieces of furniture.

“The birds aren’t mine. They’re Jugo’s friends. I hate the feathered rats.” Anko gave a look to the pigeons perched happily in the open window. “The dog was a gift from a friend. He’s only here on vacation. Say, he’ll be going back to Tokyo as well in a couple of days.”

“Nice to meet you.” The pug said in a voice far too deep for its size. Sakura jolted and stared down at it, but nodded her head meekly as her hands were preoccupied.

“Hello,” She managed.

“Holy shit! You’re so cute!” Naruto shouted, picking up the pug and twirling around with it, hugging him close to his chest. “What’s your name, good boy?!”

“Damnit, you feline—“ The pug bit down hard onto Naruto’s arm and Naruto flailed until the dog let go and fell to the ground.

“My name is Pakkun, and you will not address me as boy! Good or not!” He barked.

“Fine, fine.” Naruto pouted, dejected by Pakkun’s disregard for his praises. He rubbed the bite, noticing there was no blood.

“Naruto, don’t offend my house guests.” Anko grabbed Naruto’s ear and pinched hard, causing the boy to stagger and hiss in pain.

“Alright, I’m sorry!” He yelped and grabbed onto his ear as he was released.

“Good then!” Anko smiled and started walking again. “Let’s get that duck to bed.” She pointed towards the hallway that seemed to stretch on much longer than the building allowed from the outside. “Third door on the right.”

“Thank you, Anko-san, for all you’re doing for us.” Sakura smiled at Anko amicably.

“No problem at all, rest assured that you’ll pay for it in the end!” Anko hummed.

“That sounds ominous.” Naruto mumbled, pouting still.

Sakura opened the door with her foot and looked around the room. It reminded her of a cheap motel room, but the décor was just slightly more sinister. All of the room was draped in some sort of black ivy, with a large taxidermy buck standing in the corner. She jumped when the deer moved and stared at her before walking out. She made a noise of disbelief.

“Naruto,” Sasuke muttered, cracking his eyes open groggily.   
  
Naruto jumped and came to his side in the blink of an eye. “What?”

“You’re an idiot.” He told him weakly, grin spreading over his face in a trembling sort of way. It would have been pathetic if there hadn't been so much mirth behind it.

“What’s your problem?!” Naruto hissed, smacking him on the arm.

“There’s nothing wrong with me, you’re the dumbass.” Sasuke muttered, voice heavy.

“I don’t know what sort of dream you were having, but that’s no way to treat me when you first wake up!” Naruto pouted.

Sasuke hesitated. Naruto had this uncanny ability to read his emotions, despite how he tried his best to stifle most of them. He pressed his lips into a thin line and looked away.

“So these are the three Miss Anko sent.” A loud red head girl stood, stance wide in the door way. Her Japanese was terrible and heavy laden with a Northeastern accent, but she put in the effort so that she could speak to the three. She sneered at Sakura and Naruto, not yet spotting Sasuke. “Hm. A weakling, a muscle head, and an idiot with a blank stare!” She pointed at each one in turn as Naruto and Sakura tried to figure out who was who, Sasuke only glared at the ceiling before sitting up. The girl gasped audibly but quickly schooled her expression.

“Actually, contrary to popular belief, our names are Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.” Sakura raised a brow, crossing her arms after she realized she got called a muscle head. She wouldn’t deny it. “May I ask yours?”

“Karin Uzamakey.” She said proudly, American accent coming through more than she realized. Naruto hesitated.

“Do you mean Uzumaki?” He asked with an uncharacteristically dry tone.

“That’s what I said, you dolt.” She returned, flipping the hair from her face and casting a look at Sasuke, some sort of attempt at a sultry gaze.

“Huh.” Naruto looked defeated, like he had seen a ghost of some sort. “No way I’m related to you. It had to be coincidence.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, so shut up!” Karin decided. Her eyes drifted to Sakura and she hesitated. She felt her toes curl in her shoes at the sight of her.

“Must you be so loud?” Sasuke glowered at her, red eyes brimming with irritation. He didn’t tolerate people talking down to Naruto.

As children, Naruto became the frequent target for bullying among those at their schools, so he defended Naruto from a young age, and when they met Sakura, she did the same as well.

“I-I was making my presence known.” Karin said firmly, red tinting her cheeks, clashing pleasantly with her hair. Sasuke hesitated with a feeling of déjà vu. “S-So I heard that the tengu over there was bitten by Orochimaru.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, still brisk with annoyance. “What about it? Spit it out.”

“No one told you then.” Karin pushed her glasses up and tilted her head. “Anko was a former student of Orochimaru, and those of us who are her apprentices were once his thralls.”

“Thralls?” Sakura looked confused. He wasn’t aware of any of the creatures he had seemed to be that could make thralls.

“Orochimaru is a disgusting amalgamation of creatures.” Karin practically spat, gripping her upper arm as she grew anxious at simply the mention. Her fingernails left crescent indentions that punctuated her sentence by telling the three there was much more than what she was saying. Her frown deepened for a moment and she looked bitter. “You’re lucky you escaped before that curse overtook you. It wouldn’t mix well with your tengu blood.”

“What exactly does the curse mark do?” Sakura asked, sensing the unease. She looked at Naruto before stepping forward. Karin was just a tad taller than her. She was shaking at the full frontal reminder of her time with the snake spirit. “Miss Karin?” Sakura continued in English, thinking it may be better than Karin’s rough Japanese. Karin faltered, suppressing a small smile.

“You’re a nosy bitch, huh?” Karin hissed, smirking at her balefully.

Sakura took a moment to understand her words. English was a bit more contextual than Japanese.

“I am.” Sakura cocked her head. Karin wilted a bit. There was trauma in her eyes. Sakura recognized it from her brief internship at the hospital. Something along the lines of PTSD no doubt.

“The curse mark pushes the soul out of the host until the body and being are all that’s left behind.” Karin said, casting a sideways glance at Sasuke. “Then Orochimaru absorbs them.”

Sakura flinched a bit.

“What’d she say?” Naruto asked, looking at the terror-stricken look on Sasuke’s face. His English was absolutely terrible and he couldn’t understand accents at all.

Sasuke explained it quietly as Sakura and Karin retained each other’s eye contact.

“It was nice to meet you, Miss Karin.” Sakura bowed lightly, deciding to look past her bombastic personality and befriend her instead.

“Just Karin’s fine. ‘Less you want me calling you Sakura-sand.”

Sakura couldn’t help the smile. She stood up straight, looking a bit indignant. Her temper was still there, just a bit more manageable.

“That’s fine, Karin.” Sakura said after a moment. Karin hesitated before grabbing Sakura’s hand, cheeks reddening quickly. Sakura quirked a brow as the girl’s thumb brushed over her knuckle, a seemingly universal gesture she didn’t quite understand.

“Let me show you around Los Angeles, Sakura!” Karin insisted.

“Wait—what about us?!” Naruto yelled, stomping his foot.

“Well, you need to take care of that injured bird over there, so do that! You two can get the tour when that one’s able to walk!” Karin’s stance widened the way Naruto’s did when he was sure of something. She had that bright smile that could rival a star. She certainly was an Uzumaki, Sakura thought.

“Let’s go then! Girl time!” Karin slammed the door shut after pulling Sakura out with an amount of strength that surprised her. Sakura stumbled after her, before sighing.   
  
“May I at least set my bag down? This thing is heavy. I could also probably do well to change clothes… I’m sure I don’t smell great.”

“Here.” Karin said, voice dropping a bit as she held her hand out. Sakura gave her a hesitant look before slowly handing her the bag. Karin opened a door that was almost obviously her own bedroom. She winked at Sakura before setting her bag inside and shutting the door. “Alright, so while I show you around, we’ll keep an eye out for some new clothes, because frankly.” Karin pointed a finger at what she was wearing. “You should dress better!”

“I was hunting. I can’t dress nicely for a hunt.” Sakura said evenly.

“Nonsense. I occasionally go on hunts with Anko, and I still dress well.” Karin gave her a look. “Like how I am now! Stylish, but functional!” Karin gestured to her crop top depicting some sort of pop culture reference Sakura didn’t understand. She tucked her thumb into the wide pocket of her high waist shorts. She grinned at Sakura as she finally realized Karin was flirting. Sakura flushed.

“Come one now! We need to catch the bus—I only have my learner’s permit!” Karin huffed. “Where do you want to eat? Do you have any restaurants you’ve heard of in a movie you want to try? It’ll be my treat!” She hummed.

“I don’t know of any restaurants.” Sakura admitted. “Um… hostess’s choice, then?”

“I know just the place! Ever had authentic Cuban served by an Urban Legend?” Karin asked, taking Sakura’s hand needlessly again, then leading her out of the door.

“Sakura and I are going out, old lady!” Karin called to Anko who scoffed at the name.

“Grab a charm for the ambiguous spirit. We don’t need the Hunters’ League grabbing Sakura.” Anko said, waving a finger.

“Hunters’ League?” Sakura repeated, a bit stunned as Karin suddenly looped a chain with a pendant around her neck.

“Oh, your English is so cute.” Karin sang, holding her chest as though her heart were going to leap from her ribs. “Anyway, I’ll explain on the way so come on.”

“Right. Okay.” Sakura wasn’t shell shocked by the massive amount of people, but the terrain surprised her. She belatedly realized how much sleep she had missed. Luckily, they had made the wise decision to sleep before their most previous hunt, but she was feeling all that happened seep into her bones. Though the vast diversity of people made her eyes wander with great fascination.

“So, where do I start, huh? Hunters’ League! Let’s see…” Karin made flamboyant gestures in the air, before flipping her hair from her shoulder as she prepared to drag Sakura through a thick crowd. “Oh, ignore it. Some sort of gang related activity or something.”

“Gang related activity?” Sakura echoed. “I thought Los Angeles would be different. Maybe it’s more like Tokyo than expected.”

“It is! It is!” Karin said happily. “Anyway, the Hunters’ League started back in the 1700’s, around the time America broke from British rule. As the colonists continued to wipe out the native population, the local folklore decided that wasn’t alright. France sent over seasoned hunters from the Du Jour.” The French word rolled off of her tongue.

“Du Jour?” Sakura knit her brows, observing as the buildings gradually got taller, with more intricate, almost obscene architecture. “Oh! One of the oldest organizations of hunters, right?”

“Yes. The oldest that still hunts.” Karin nodded, almost nervously. “Anyway, the French sent over their hunters, who started the Hunters’ League. They wiped out the great race of the Thunder Bird.” Karin’s eyes darkened. She gripped her arm again, the way she did when she remembered something foul.

“The… the entire race of Thunder Birds?” Sakura whispered, feeling immensely uncomfortable. “And they’re still hunting?” Her sneer was evident.

“Ah, if you would look at that.” Karin mused. “A pacifist hunter?”

“Something like that.” Sakura smiled lightly, sensing that ridge that Karin had, despite her flirtatious manner. “Hey, don’t give me the cold shoulder.”

“You can’t blame me! I’m a fox spirit, you know!”

Sakura paused. She sounded so much like Naruto it made her giggle.

“I’m not heartless, despite being a hunter. I have moral ground and whatnot.” Sakura smiled. “Besides.” Her eyes grew somewhat sad. Somewhat distant. Somewhat old. “I’m sure now that I’m not a human either. I have no idea what I am, and eats me up.”


	8. 3:00 PM and Shopping Malls and Coincidence

“Here it is! Mambo Café!” Karin announced, presenting the red and black building with her arms displaying it widely and proudly.

“It looks like a convenient store.” Sakura said bluntly, but her interest was piqued. She tilted her head to get a better look. “You said the owner was an urban legend?”

“Yeah, Her name is Lola.” Karin opened the door and waved happily at the elderly lady. Lola waved back before gesturing towards the bar. Karin guided Sakura to the cushioned bar stools. “Hey, Lola! I’ll take a pop, what about you, Sakura? Oh, this is my friend Sakura! She’s from Tokyo!”

“Tokyo?” Lola parotted, Cuban accent heavy but charming. She smiled prettily. Lola was an older woman, though no more than seventy, with a sweet face and big brown eyes that could've given Tenten a run for her money. “It’s nice to meet you, Sak’ra.”

Sakura smiled, knowing that would not be the last of people mispronouncing her name in the new country. She was fine with it. “Yes. From Meguro district. I’d like a… um… do you have tea?”

“Yes.” Lola smiled and turned to get their drinks.

“Lola is a folk-type from Cuba." Karin began. "When I first met her ten years ago, I thought she was lying, but I didn’t know much about Cuban culture so I couldn’t say for certain once way or another. Anyway, there’s a popular saying over there ‘es la hora en que matron a Lola—“

“Es la hora en que mataron a Lola.” Lola corrected with a smile. Sakura smiled as well, not knowing what it meant.

“It’s the time that Lola was killed—3:00 pm exactly!” Karin said, far too chipper.

“Don’t say it like that, fox child!” Lola chastised, smacking Karin’s knuckles with a plate. Karin yelped and pouted, holding her hand up protectively at her chest.

“Sorry!” She whined. “Anyway, the legend is that Lola was a homewrecker and was either killed by her husband for being unfaithful, or by the wife of a husband she’d slept with.”

“That’s terrible!” Sakura said, horrified. Lola merely chuckled.

“I was actually killed long before that by a colonist.” Lola corrected. “I came back over and over as an apparition, seducing men into being unfaithful, seducing women into killing their unfaithful husbands. So both are technically correct! Every now and again I would let a village burn me, though."

“That’s terrible, too.” Sakura repeated, but once again Lola and Karin laughed.

“She only did it to those who deserved it.” Karin clapped a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “Besides, _you_ kill all the time. Sakura here is a hunter! But don’t worry, I think she’s some sort of Love Goddess!” Karin said, waving a finger matter of factly. Lola grinned.

“Me too, little one.”

“I said love goddess, not vengeful, old seductress.” Karin laughed. Lola huffed again and sat their drinks down. Sakura stared at the tall plastic cup of dark liquid. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. She hesitantly took a sip and went pale, looking around to see if anyone else had ordered tea. “Oh!” Karin turned her head and looked at Sakura with worry. “The tea here is sweet!” She said belatedly and Sakura relaxed a bit, smiling with embarrassment.

“I can get you unsweetened tea.” Lola offered.

“Oh! No! This is good, thank you.” Sakura leaned forward, bowing deeply. Lola quirked a brow and scratched her cheek.

“Alright. You ready to order?” She asked.

“I would like the Cari-bean Salad.” Karin hummed. “Do you eat pork?” She asked Sakura, who nodded. “She’ll have the Roast. It's the best thing to try first. Kind of spicy, but not too spicy."

“Coming up.” Lola smiled and turned to help her other customers.

Karin smiled amicably at Sakura. “I’ll bet your some sort of love goddess.”

“Why do you say that?” Sakura asked, brow knit but cheeks red.

“Well, I’m straight—as an _arrow_. But I am inexplicably attracted to you.” Karin explained. “Like, I want you to sit on my face attracted.” Karin said with the most serious face and pointed at herself. Sakura blushed deeply after she realized what Karin meant.

“I-I don’t understand.” Sakura stammered, leaning back.

“Like, it goes beyond ‘if I had to pick a woman’, it goes straight into ‘I want to fuck you with a strap on, until you’re gayer than you make me feel.’” Karin said proudly. Sakura buried her face in her hairs, peaking from between her fingers. “Look how cute!” Karin fawned, grabbing her in a tight hug and clinging. “So cute! Look at that face! Oh god.” She grabbed Sakura’s shoulders and put distance between them. “I can’t let Suigestu meet you.”

“Suigestu… that sounds Japanese.” Sakura said dumbly, unable to think of something better to say.

“Yes, he would enjoy your presence _far_ too much.” Karin nodded. “Oh! Which reminds me! Enjoying things way too much—that bird of yours sure is pretty. Is he single? I mean, even if he’s not—but it makes things easier!”

“Sasuke?” She asked, still a little stunned at how quickly Karin was bouncing around subjects.

“Ohhh, okay, so the blonde fox must be Naruto then. It’s weird. A blonde fox. His true form must look really adorable or really gross.” Karin mused. “Anyway, that tengu, he’s single, right?”

“He’s single, but… I don’t think he’s looking for a _girlfriend_.” Sakura managed. 

“I don’t want to be his girlfriend.” Karin scrunched up her nose. “I want to suck his dick.”

“ _Ohmygod_ ,” Sakura muttered, looking down at her folded hands. “You remind me of Ino.”

“Ino?” Karin made another face. “Whatever, you’re weird.” She made a noise of approval when the food was placed in front of her.

“Thank you.” Sakura smiled at Lola, then Karin. She picked up the roll of utensils and grabbed the fork and knife, taking small bites at first. It was well seasoned and tender. She blushed a bit. “It’s very good.”  
  
“Ah! That is very cute!” Lola agreed with Karin, pointing at Sakura.

“See?” Karin said, mouth full of food. “Love goddess, calling it now. 50 bucks says she’s some sort of Aphrodite child. That lady has a kid in every country.”

“Bucks?” Sakura looked at her funny before returning to her meal. Karin was odd. Vulgar and blunt and unbelievably odd. A nondescript tune caught her attention and she grabbed her phone from her pocket. “Tenten? Hey! Hi! How are you?” Sakura asked excitedly in Japanese. She made an apologetic glance at Karin as she slid from the high barstool and exited the restaurant to get a better space to speak.

“ **Where are you?! Are you okay?!** ” Her voice was booming with concern.

“W-What! Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t tell anyone!” Sakura blurted, gaining her odd looks. “I’m good, I’m alright. I’m actually, you’re never going to believe this—in Los Angeles.”

“How? Why? What happened? Are you having some sort of quarter life crisis?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Sakura smiled broadly, glad Tenten couldn’t see the wide smile on her face from the sudden and unexpected conversation. “Actually, Sasuke had gotten injured, bitten by that snake spirit we were talking about.” Sakura leaned against the wall, blushing vividly at Tenten’s worried tone.

“Oh thank all the gods! I-I thought you were hurt! I thought that thing got you! I couldn’t feel your presence anymore, so I hightailed it to Kyoto. And—and—Lee shut up a second!” Tenten hissed. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re alright. Oh, and Lee says hello.”

“Hello, Lee!” Sakura giggled. “I’m flattered you came to my rescue, Tenten-chan.” Sakura sang, pacing around like a school girl talking to her crush.

“Well of course. I figured if I show up as the knight in shining armor, you’ll be indebted to me or something and I could pimp you off to fight in my place.” She could hear how smug Tenten was and grinned.

“Ha! Yeah, right. You’re worried about my well being. You’re a big softie.” Sakura accused.

“Don’t spread those dirty rumors about me.”

“Got it.” Sakura leaned against the brick of the building again and smiled, watching the passersby.

“Anyway, um… see you tonight, then? If that’s alright?” Tenten asked with hesitation.

“A dream eater that asks permission.” Sakura giggled. “Yeah, see you tonight.”

“Cool! See you!”

“Bye bye.” Sakura hummed and hung up.

“You’re in America! Speak English!” She heard someone yell. Her attention snapped up from her phone and that silly grin she’d had moments ago was replaced with a deep scowl. She looked around for the source, but couldn’t find it.

“Rude.” She said, still in her native tongue. She reentered the restaurant and sat beside Karin once more. Karin gave her a small smile.

“Everything alright? You were pacing like a maniac out there.” Karin brushed her red hair back again.

“Ah, yes. I just forgot to tell my friends where I was.” Sakura admitted.

“Looks like you’re just about done there, hurry up so I can get you better clothes, and get something for that pretty little bird of yours.” Karin hummed, checking her bank account through her phone. “And maybe something for the fox. Say, do you think… Do you think he would give me a whisker if I bought him some clothes?”

“What’s so special about whiskers?” Sakura asked quietly.

“Well, we Kitsune hold our essence there. When I was 5, Orochimaru plucked mine and added it to his own body. Before he absorbed my soul, that is.” Karin said, voice dropping a bit.

“Y-Your soul?” Sakura echoed, brow knit in worry.

“I got it back, but I wasn’t able to return to my form as a fox, I’m missing a lot of my powers too…” Karin’s tone was dejected. Sakura hesitantly grabbed the hand that rested on the table. Karin smiled at her nervously, not sure how to handle the tender touch. “If I had a whisker, then perhaps that would prompt mine to grow back.”

“Will his grow back?” Sakura asked.

“As long as he had at least one, they’ll all return.” Karin nodded.

“I don’t doubt he’d give you one then.” Sakura smiled. Naruto was one of the most compassionate people she’d ever met. She was certain he would help out a distant relative. “Hold on, Anko seemed pretty interested in acquiring a Kitsune apprentice.”

“Ah.” Karin grimaced. “In our true forms we possess the ability to make flames that are rivaled only by that of the Tengu.” Her smile was bitter. “Without any of my powers I’m pretty useless to her. I’m only good at a little of the more practical magic that she teaches me, though she’s able to harvest my energy to use in healing spells.”

“I see.” Sakura said hesitantly. “So, how did you become her apprentice?”

“The same way Jugo and Suigestu did. She rescued us from Orochimaru. She told us she didn’t care about us, that she was only rescuing us to spite Orochimaru, but we all know she’s a softie.” Karin fished around in her pocket for her wallet and paid in bills Sakura didn’t recognize for a moment. “Let’s head out. See you Lola!”

“Goodbye, Sak'ra and Karin!” Lola waved eagerly.

“Where are we headed?” Sakura asked after waving to Lola.

“Westside Pavillion.” Karin said proudly. “But we’re bussing there. I’m not walking that.”

“I would offer to pay, but my card only works in Japan.” Sakura said with a bit of guilt.

“I told you, I’m paying for everything!” Karin insisted and nudged her. “Come on. We’re gonna miss it if we don’t get to the bus stop in time.”

Sakura just nodded and followed behind her eagerly. Karin had such a bright personality, just like Naruto. She followed her, wading through crowds more diverse than she was used to. The foreign sight was welcome and everything around her brought a silly smile to her face.

“Wipe that look off your face. People think you’re a tourist.” Karin whispered as she swiped her bus pass then paid for Sakura’s fare.

“The busses aren’t that different than in Japan.” Sakura said idly, looking around with hungry eyes, taking in all the differences and similarities she could. “And I am a tourist.”

Karin scoffed. “Not with me you aren’t.” She informed her and directed her with a hand on her lower back towards the very middle of the bus, next to a second set of doors. Sakura stayed standing, holding onto the bar until Karin tugged her down into a carpeted seat. “Don’t be weird about it. I’m sure only four people have turned to corpses in that seat.” She chuckled.

Sakura gave her a horrified look before realizing she was kidding.

“Ha. Ha. Mess with the newbie.” Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Well, of course.” She swung an arm over Sakura’s shoulders, bringing her face mere inches from Sakura’s. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Sakura’s cheeks reddened, but she put her hand up between Karin and herself, looking away and pouting. “You’re a better flirt than anyone I know.” She mentioned idly.

“Yes! A compliment!” Karin pumped her fist into the air before being hushed by a stranger. “Blow it out your ass, granny.” Karin hissed, holding her middle finger up. Sakura stared in disbelief before averting her gaze. Karin was certainly more outgoing than herself, even more than Naruto. “Oh. Here.” Karin reached up and tugged a yellow cord, signaling to the bus driver to halt at the next stop, despite it not being somewhere they would usually pull over. The bus came to a stop and the two eagerly crowded out, as well as one other person.

“Oh, it’s… more horizontal than the mall equivalents in Tokyo.” Sakura said after a moment.

“Ha! _Horizontal_. That's one way of describing it.” Karin repeated. “Alright, so we’re hitting up a few American icons since this is your first time, then there’s a gun store I’m taking you to, because I have a fake credit card and I don’t know why you’re carrying around that ancient thing. I mean, really—its mostly metal! Ridiculous! A Glock would be much more convenient.”

“Wait—“ Sakura looked horrified. “How did you know?”

“Oh, please. I may not be a Kitsune fully anymore, but I can still smell things like that.” Karin smirked proudly then poked her in the tummy. “You would do much better with a gun suited for a woman’s hands.”

Sakura gave her an odd look, not sure if the comment was sexist or not. The gun was a bit large in her grip and something smaller would be beneficial, but the idea that she could only operate a smaller gun got under her skin.

“So, how do you know Pein?” Karin asked, changing the subject as she guided her through the crowded mall, one hand gripping hers tightly.

“Oh, uh… The Forums, but… we just met him. I think.” Sakura stammered.

“The forums?! He let you on the forums?!” Karin gasped, turning over her shoulder and effectively bumping into someone. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Karin barked.

Sakura covered her mouth again as Karin pushed the blame onto the poor stranger.

“Yeah? You and your girlfriend need to be more careful, un! I was standing still—you walked in to me!” The blonde man returned in a faint European accent, glaring down at Karin. He was only a bit taller, but his feistiness made him seem higher up than he actually was. Karin drew her arm back but Sakura caught it before she could swing. Karin jerked against Sakura’s grip before turning and looking exasperated at her.

“How are you that strong? Jesus Christ.” Karin breathed, relaxing a bit as the distraction caused the man to eye up the two of them properly before grinning like a maniac at Sakura.

“Training?” Sakura shrugged a little and released her.

“ _Cherry_.”

Sakura’s head jerked back to the stranger that just addressed her properly by her screen name. She immediately tried to identify him, knowing only a couple people he could be with that type of attitude.

“That’s a fucked up thing to call a pretty young maid like her.” Karin possessively wrapped her arms around Sakura and glared. Sakura pulled herself free and gave her a look, before turning back to the blonde man, determined to hold her own ground instead of letting Karin do it.

Sakura held her hand out. Eagerly, the man gripped her deceptively delicate looking hand with both of his and shook it eagerly.

“I’m Deidara, yeah? Art, whatever.” He smiled widely, almost too-straight teeth catching the light. “Fate must have brought us together at last. Is this fox?”

“This isn't Fox.” Sakura said idly, not knowing how else to respond. “Oh, _Dei!”_ She realized and finally gripped his hand in the shake, before yanking it away when she felt something like a slug in her hand. He giggled mischievously.

“Oh, dude, _gross._ ” Karin scoffed, staring with wide eyes at the mouth in his palm before it vanished under a carefully sculpted glamor. 

“Right, my apologies.” He covered his mouth to prevent another chuckle. “So how did fate lead you here to see me?” He asked, grin never leaving his face. “This whole bump into your future husband thing is an overplayed trope, but I’ll bite.”

Sakura leveled him with a bored look before shaking her head. “You really have no filter, do you?”

“Nope, not when it comes to goddesses!” He purred, and stepped a bit closer.  
  
“Personal space.” Sakura said simply, planting a hand on his chest and pushing him back a bit. He smirked, leaning against her hand before dropping his full weight against her.

“ _Come oooon._ ” He whined. “Give us little demi’s a chance, yeah?”

Sakura shook her head but she couldn’t help from laughing. He was exactly how she imagined him to be, and it was humorous. She noted the word 'demi' but chose to ignore it for now.

“Oh, maybe this would be better.” Deidara hummed. As Sakura blinked, he was no longer a blonde. The fact that he changed so quickly didn’t startle her, what did is that he was suddenly a shade of brunette with brown eyes that threw her off and made her blush. “Oh! She has a type! So what’s her name? Tenten? What kind of name is Tenten?”

“What kind of name is Deidara?!” Karin barked, glaring at him. He was making fun of Sakura, and while it was annoying, what really got her was his inherent ability to what she could only assume was reading Sakura’s mind. She wanted that ability.

“A-Alright, this is weird, stop flirting. _Both_ of you. It’s making me uncomfortable.” Sakura started stammering but straightened up and put both her hands on her hips.

Karin flinched, looking at her like a kicked puppy. Deidara merely frowned, returning to his preferred colorings. He sighed and rubbed his neck, looking at the ground guiltily. “Sorry.” He said simply.

“So, answering your question from earlier, Fox, Hawk and I are—“

“Those two named themselves Fox and Hawk?” Karin snorted. “Are you _actually_ a cherry then?”

“Are here because Hawk was grievously wounded, marked by some snake spirit bastard named Orochimaru.” Sakura narrowed her eyes at Karin, who immediately pouted and looked away. “Hawk is recovering and Karin here was nice enough to show me around LA.”

“Ah! _I’m_ here because Puppet Dick got injured!” Deidara said excitedly.

“Not something you should be thrilled about.” Sakura grinned. “What’re you hunting?”

“Rogue skin walker out in the Mojave.” Deidara said proudly. Sakura shivered. The names of creatures sounded so much more horrifying in English. “So did you get the Jiki-whatever?”

“Jikininki.” Sakura corrected. “And yes.”

“Japanese Wendigo. Whatever.” Deidara rolled his eyes. He jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly took it out answered it. There was a long pause. “Well, fuck. Alright.”

“See you around, then?” Sakura tilted her head a little.

“Yep.” Deidara sighed. “Puppet’s cousins are in town. Apparently there was a death in their family so they’re coming to America for a little get-away trip. We’re headed out to meet them at the airport then fly with them to New York. Gross.”

“Death in the family? My condolences.” Sakura bowed lightly, earning her a strange look. She blushed and grimaced all at once.

“Eh. Don’t be. Sand men are dicks. Like major dicks, un.” Deidara said with a look in his eyes that told Sakura there was a lot to the story. “Though, they’re endangered so I suppose I should feel bad. Now there are only a few left.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Sakura said earnestly, wondering if the dwindling numbers would somehow affect the overall population’s sleep. She didn’t know much about sleep-dwellers, other than Tenten.

Deidara simply shrugged and leaned down, quickly hugging Sakura before kissing her on both cheeks and walking away, waving lightly over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd. Sakura stood as straight as a board, eyes shot wide and cheeks red.

“Ah! I thought I heard an Italian accent.” Karin hummed. “You know that guy?”

“Y-Yeah. He’s on the forums.” Sakura said and covered her cheek. “That was a good bye gesture, right?”

“No, it was him proposing to you.” Karin mocked, earning her a smack on the arm. “Ow! Careful with those things! Geez, why do you even have a gun? You don’t need them with those guns!” Karin laughed loudly at her pun, and gripped Sakura’s firm biceps. Sakura flustered and swatted Karin’s hands away, causing the redhead to giggle incessantly.

* * *

 

  
Sasuke’s eyes were slow to open. He felt lethargic.

“Ah! There you are. You fainted again.” Naruto’s bright expression came into his field of view and a smile threatened his lips though he contained it. Sasuke blinked up at him and sighed.   
  
“I didn’t faint.” Sasuke argued, sitting up as Naruto moved away. The bed rose as Naruto got up and the thought occurred to him that Naruto had been sitting on the edge. A once-cold, now room-temperature rag fell from his head where it dampened his bangs. He blinked. Anko didn’t seem like the caring type and Sakura, the self-proclaimed nurse of the three wasn’t around so…

“Bullshit.” Naruto snorted. “One second, you were on the phone with your brother and the next you were all ‘Oh, Naruto, I don’t feel so good!’ and the next second you were laying back with your eyes shut.” Naruto took an all-too-high octave of voice in a mockery of Sasuke’s speech, though it sounded nothing like him.

“Shut up.” Sasuke groaned as the headache he had finally caught up with him.

“Asshole.” Naruto bit out.

“Loser.” Sasuke returned, shoving Naruto and getting out of bed, barefeet cold against the hard wood floor. He looked around the room. It looked entirely too much like a trophy room. Had a civilian stepped inside, they would assume it was some sort of taxidermy art project; the heads on the walls belonged to none other than American creatures that no doubt got out of hand, though all of them maintained animalistic features, rather than human. After all, not even a witch could get away with keeping a human corpse up on display. Too many questions.

“Pizza’s here, you ungrateful shits!” A firm voice called. Sasuke blinked but Naruto immediately lit up and grabbed Sasuke’s hand, dragging him roughly from the room. He yelled an insult but it fell on deaf ears.

“Hell yeah! Man, Sakura and that Karin girl are missing out!” Naruto exclaimed, looking eagerly at the cardboard box emitting a decidedly tomato-based aroma.

“Suigetsu! Get your ass out of the tub and come eat!” Anko yelled down the hall. Sasuke made a face. He was used to Naruto’s loud voice, but this much yelling was foreign and entirely unwelcome.

“I didn’t know anyone else was here.” Naruto commented, plating a piece of pizza and handing it to Sasuke before getting his own. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment before sitting at the dining table. The kind gesture didn’t go unnoticed.

“Yeah, Suigetsu got kinda dry so he was sleeping.” Anko shrugged. “The last of my apprentices will likely pick up Karin and Sakura on his way back.” She flicked a hand as she sat down, plate with two slices of pizza levitating towards her. The boys leaned forward, staring incredulously. She cracked an eye open and stared back at them, but with a practiced ferocity. Naruto jolted and looked down at his food. “What? Never seen a witch before?”

“Not a wandless witch.” Sasuke admitted, though Naruto made a shocked noise and smacked him on the arm. Anko smirked, pointing a finger at him. Instinctively the two leaned back, causing her to snort loudly and cackle. She stopped laughing as a pale, lanky boy with hair as white as a crashing wave stood in the doorway to the dining room and kitchen, yawning and stretching. A ceramic plate smacked him in the face.

“Put some clothes on, boy!” Anko barked. Suigetsu held his now bleeding nose and skittered back to his room. “I apologize for him.” She rolled her eyes. “Mermaids.” She spat the word out like it scorned her.

“Mermaid?” Both of them leaned forward and spoke in unison.

“Ha! Yeah, what were you expecting? A redhead with shells on her tits?” Anko asked bluntly.

“So is the term mermaid applied to boys?” Sasuke asked, genuinely interested in the semantics all of the sudden.

“No, but I don't give half a shit one way or the other.” Said mermaid sat at the table, now wearing a loose pair of shorts. Anko scoffed.

“You are determined to be as naked as possible.” She growled.

“That’s the goal.” He said, wiping his bloody nose with a napkin before realizing there was food and standing up to wash his hands. “This heat’s been fuckin’ crazy.”

“Welcome to Los Angeles.” Anko mumbled with her mouth full.

“Who’re the two?” Suigetsu asked, sitting down next to Sasuke and scooting close, a wicked grin spreading over sharpened teeth. Sasuke quirked a brow. “He smells wonderful.”

Naruto leaned across Sasuke, glaring harshly at Suigetsu. Sasuke grabbed both by their faces and pushed them apart.

“My name’s Naruto Uzumaki!” Naruto exclaimed, gripping onto Sasuke’s hand and pushing it away from his face.

“Sasuke Uchiha.” Sasuke said in a much more subdued manner.

“Suigetsu Hoshigaki!” He announced proudly, giving Naruto a knowing smirk.   
  
“Ah, did you finally get it legally changed?” Anko asked idly, already finished with half of her meal. Sasuke took a hesitant bite before pausing and quickly devouring it, immediately getting up for a second slice.

“Yeah, Kisame will be here in two months, too!” Suigetsu said excitedly, a huge grin on his face.

“Back to the ocean, huh?” Anko asked.

“Yeah, once Mangetsu gets released from prison, him and I are going back to the Pacific. Man’s getting his title back and I’m going under as an apprentice with Kisame after he takes a leave from Dawn.” He leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs and peaking at Anko. “You’re gonna miss me.”

“My water bill isn’t.” She snorted. “But you will have to come visit me and bring me things from the ocean I can’t get otherwise.”

Naruto and Sasuke listened to the exchange, eating quietly. Naruto looked at Sasuke and practically saw stars in his eyes. He grinned widely and nudged him.

“I think we found your favorite food.” Naruto suggested, taking out a memo pad and writing it down to include in his novel later on.

“So anyway, what brings you two here? Did Anko get you to sign a contract too?” Suigetsu asked, chewing annoyingly with his mouth open until Anko leaned across the table and forced his chin closed with a deadly glare. He made a face, but chewed with his mouth closed, the action exaggerated and spiteful.

“Sasuke was chosen by Orochimaru.” Anko said bluntly.

Suigetsu choked on his food and took a moment to cough and hack until everything was right again. “Holy shit, I’m sorry.”

“And I’m helping them recuperate. Thank you very much. I don’t nail everyone with contracts. Only idiots like you.” She crossed her arms and tilted her chin back as she palmed a cigarette from her pocket and lit it with the tip of her finger.

“I’m not an idiot.” Suigetsu pouted. “I was desperate.”

“Plus, you make me sound like some sort of villain.” Anko gave him a look, blowing smoke at him as he prepared to say something else. She looked to Naruto and Sasuke. “I’m a mature, motherly figure who nurtured this idiot shark boy until he was healthy enough to work, then I made him do minimal work. Most of which entailed of grabbing fish extracts and corpses from the ocean. Occasionally I made him sweep the shop, but Jugo prefers to shop keep. Fine by me.” She shrugged. “Oh, Jugo’s the third, and my favorite.” She said matter of factly. “Best wizard I’ve trained so far, and he wasn’t a wizard to begin with either—you’d never guess it by his skill. He even contracted Durga—a goddamn certifiable still-worshipped goddess to help him with his rage!” She said proudly, grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s impressive.” Sasuke said genuinely.

“Jugo-this, Jugo-that.” Suigetsu scoffed. “Scratch my back a little, won’t you?”

Naruto stared, thinking the expression was odd, but ignoring it.

“Why? All you do is complain.” Anko snorted and stood up. “Well, mama has work to do!” She exclaimed, winking at no particular person and checking her watch. “Ten minutes ago.” She whisper-hissed before bolting through the door.

“Ignore her. She’s crazy and old.” Suigetsu suggested. “So, tell me about yourselves. You’re from Japan.” He noted. “Tokyo? Smells like Tokyo.”

“Yeah… from Tokyo.” Sasuke said simply.

“We’re hunters.” Naruto narrowed his eyes, still oddly protective of Sasuke. “Where are you from?”

“The Pacific. This little village called Kiri, kinda close to California, a bit further than a day’s travelling distance.” He explained. “Unfortunately, my older brother got trapped by Orochimaru, framed, put in prison.” He sighed. “If it weren’t for the damn Hunters’ League, he would’ve escaped, probably 60 times by now!”

“Framed? Why?” Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed. Why wouldn’t Orochimaru just kill him?

“Mangetsu came and saved me, and when Orochimaru realized Mangetsu was stronger than he, he did the second best thing. That fucking snake pinned him with a homicide, and my kidnapping.” Suigetsu sighed. “Anko took me in and adopted me, because she’s the only one I know when citizenship to a country. Well, Karin has one, but she wasn’t old enough at the time to adopt little 7 year old me. My godfather, Kisame, is now legally adopting me back in Kiri. Had to change the last name though. I don’t particularly mind, but it was weird having to write it out.”

Sasuke stared blankly at him as the boy went on and on about his life. He zoned out until Naruto pinched him, and he blinked, trying to make it look like he was listening the entire time.

“So anyway, that’s why I won’t ever go to a 7-11 on a Tuesday night without and extra pair of sandals.” He finished, finally shutting up to eat. Sasuke blinked, not sure what exactly he missed between point A and point E. Naruto was laughing though, so he gave a small chuckle as to not draw suspicion of his lack of listening skills.

Suigetsu sniffed before getting up and opening the door just as the doorbell rang.

“We’re back, baring gifts!” Karin said proudly. Sakura followed behind her, having been the one delegated to carry all of the shopping bags. The look on her face made Naruto snicker. “You!” Karin yelled, pointing at Naruto and causing him to sit up straight. “I bought you clothes in exchange for a whisker!”

“What?” Naruto looked at her dumbly, then looked at Sakura who just nodded a little, looking utterly defeated with a new hatred for American shopping malls. “Oh, sure I guess.” He shrugged a little. If Sakura went with it, so would he. Karin looked absolutely estatic and rushed over, handing him a large shopping bag full of clothes as well as a leather case of some sort. He curiously unbuttoned the leather throng holding the case together like a book, before gasping. His fingertips delicately ghosted over what looked like kunai. His eyes were wide, and becoming quickly watery.

“He’s used to cheap tactical knives. This is better than a firstborn child for him.” Sakura explained when Karin looked confused.

“These are amazing!” He announced to everyone, holding them close to his chest. “I’m putting these in my novel.” He decided, causing Sasuke to give him an annoyed look.

What surprised Sasuke however, was the shopping bag placed in his lap.

“There’s a hunting store. In the middle of a mall. Can you believe that?” Sakura asked. “And a gun store right outside of it.”

“Welcome to America.” Karin announced proudly. “Home of French fries and guns.” She alluded back to when she bought a snack for herself and Sakura after a steady 5 hours of shopping, and how Sakura almost instantly fell in love with the yellow potato-based food. Sakura giggled, elbowing Karin lightly and earning her knowing looks from the three boys. She glared at each one in turn before blinking and trying to remember if she’d met Suigetsu yet. The day had been such a whirlwind, it wouldn’t surprise her if she had and didn’t recall his name.

“Suigetsu Hoshigaki—at your service—whatever you need.” He greeted her with a wide smile.

“Ignore him. His kind are too flashy.” Karin hissed.

“Shut up, you feline fucker.” He pointed a finger at her. She stomped her foot.

“You bastard!”

“Bitch!”  
  
“Watered down koolaid!” She shouted, red in the face.

“What?” He leaned back, crossing his arms and laughing.

“W-Well, because you’re watery and koolaid tastes bad and—“

“Have you been tasting me? Why wasn’t I aware?”

“Shut up!”

Sakura slipped past Karin and sat next to Naruto, looking at Sasuke as he went through the bag. He pulled out what felt like composite leather and stared at the archer’s chest plate.

“Now you won’t have to wear two different ones to cover both sides. I got you gloves as well.” Sakura nodded.

“Thank you. It’s very light weight.” He said after a moment.

“Yeah! I got a composite gun as well! Well, I think it’s composite. It’s light as can be.” She said, pulling it from a proper, form fitting holster. She was developing an interest in the weaponry.

“What’s composite?” Naruto asked, looking warily at the much smaller, much darker gun in her hands.

“It’s the nice word for plastic.” She said honestly.

“If it’s plastic… will it hold up to be fired?” He asked, craning his neck to stare at it with a bit of fascination.

“Yes.” She smiled and handed it to him.

“It’s much lighter than the ones that creep sold you.” He noted.

“It’ll be better for concealing as well.” She added and put it away. “They didn’t even ask for a license. I went into a real store and just… bought it!” She said with amazement.

“That explains a lot.” Sasuke said dryly. “Thank you for the gifts.” He turned his head to Karin who was staring at him with thinly veiled lust. He looked away, choosing to ignore it. She looked at Sakura the same way after all. He looked instead to the rather tall boy who had somehow snuck past him without him noticing. He stooped by the window seal, feeding the pigeons, who eagerly greeted him, even being so bold as to perch on his shoulder. “I didn’t catch your name. I’m Sasuke.”

“Jugo.” He smiled politely and bowed his head. Sasuke returned the gesture. “Is Miss Anko treating you well? She can be excited at times.”

“Yes.” Sasuke said simply. “Fan of birds?”

“All animals, but especially birds.” Jugo admitted, holding a pigeon towards Sasuke. The pigeon panicked and flew back to Jugo’s shirt, clinging on just under his neck. “Oh, uh… sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Sasuke held up a placating hand. “Small children have the same reaction.” He said with a straight face.

Jugo chuckled and Naruto shot his head around in disbelief. Sasuke rarely made jokes that weren’t insulting, and it was even more rare that he would talk to strangers so openly. Still, it made Naruto smile. Sasuke didn’t have social anxiety that showed, but after knowing him for so many years, he was always able to tell that people and crowds made Sasuke rigid. Though he didn’t externally exhibit any signs of any sort of anxiety, Naruto knew him better. Because of it, they would often take different routes to school, or pick restaurants that weren’t too crowded. Or even do something as simple as wait until the crowd leaving school was gone before taking their own leave. Seeing him interact socialiably with Jugo was refreshing in a sense. Sakura must have caught on too, though only out of the corner of her eye as she spoke with Suigetsu.

“So, you’re an Uzumaki, too?” Karin asked, sliding in Sasuke’s now empty seat and looking at Naruto with veiled interest.

“Yeah!” Naruto said excitedly, remembering he just met a relative.

“Who are your parents?” She asked. Naruto flinched a little but kept his loud smile.

“Kushina and Minato.” Naruto said. Karin stared.

“Kushina was my aunt.” She smiled. It looked sad. Out of place. “I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m glad we could meet.” The quiet almost gentle tone was uncharacteristic, but sincere.

“Cousins, then.” Naruto smiled proudly and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad I’m not the ugliest in the family now!”

Sakura whipped her head around when she heard a loud smack and saw Naruto covering his cheek but grinning mirthfully and laughing as Karin berated him. She reached and plucked something from his cheek, causing him to look horrified and cover his face.

“That felt weird.” He muttered.

“At least it didn’t hurt. Mine hurt.” She pointed a finger at him. “Maybe you’re just too stupid to feel pain.” Sakura examined the thing pressed between her fingers. It was golden, unlike the one the creepy demon had picked. It was gold and glowing.

“Woah, is that mine?” He asked, poking at it.

“Yes, the only intelligent thing to coming out of your face.” She snorted and pocketed it. “Thank you, it’ll help me grow mine back.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.” He shrugged a little. “So Kitsune, huh? How did I… become a fox?”

Karin looked at him blankly. “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

“That’s a horrible excuse!” Naruto whined.

“Well—I don’t know how to explain it! How do you bend your elbow? How do you blink? How do you breathe—it’s one of those things you just do!” She yelled.

  
Sakura snickered before turning her attention back to Suigetsu. “Mermaid, huh?”

“Yes,” He nodded proudly. “Going to follow me into the sea, Prince Eric?”

It took her a moment to catch the reference but she laughed. “Hardly. I can swim, but I don’t like going out to far. I prefer the beach area.” She said.

“I prefer the beach too.” Suigetsu said, then continued. “Especially nude beaches.”

“Ah, so you’re a pervert.” Sakura analyzed with a straight face even Kakashi would be proud of.

“Yes.” He grinned.

“Alright. Filed under, ‘Stay away from’.” She smiled sweetly, causing him to whine.

“Whatever, at least I’m not seducing people with my pheromones.” He accused. Sakura gave him a look.

“Are you implying that I am?” She asked with a bit of amusement.

“Well, yeah! Why else would you smell that nice? Is it that time of the year for your kind?”

“I wouldn’t know, and follow up: fuck off.” She said grimly. Suigetsu snickered and waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve got to go. It was lovely to meet you, seductress.” He hummed. “Bye, Jugo, Karin, Sasuke, and idiot!” He sang, waving to each one before slinking out of the door as Naruto shouted.

“What the hell did you call me?!” Naruto demanded, though Suigetsu was already gone. Sakura sighed in relief and sat down next to Naruto.

“How’s Sasuke?” She asked, careful not to interrupt Karin and his conversation by politely waiting until they were done speaking.

“He’s doing better. He kept a fever.” Naruto frowned, then laughed a little. “When I read 101 on the thermometer, I nearly had a heart attack before remembering Fahrenheit temperatures are really different.”

“If it gets up past 103, we’re taking him to a hospital.” Sakura frowned, then looked at the mentioned boy, happily conversing with Jugo. “Other than that?”

“A couple of nightmares, chills, sweating, twitching.” Naruto went on, looking more concerned with each word. “But overall, better.” He nodded, then stopped frowning as he remembered Sasuke waking up from what must have been a particularly bad nightmare and clinging onto him while trembling, barely holding back tears in his state of delirious nonsense. He left that part out and decided to keep it for himself.

“It’s good that he’s better.” Sakura said.

“No, it’s amazing that he’s better. He must have some badass healing quality as a Tengu. Must be direct bloodline. I was in a coma for half a year after Anko removed my curse mark.” Karin admitted. Naruto stared in horror.

“You had it for years, though.” Sakura pointed out. “Sasuke’s was removed immediately.”

Karin averted her eyes, staring down at her painted nails. She zoned out for a long moment, stuck in some sort of flash back. As Sakura recognized the beginning of dissociation, she reached over and gripped her hand very slowly, initiating the careful contact in delicate increments. Still, Karin jolted as she was forced back into present-time reality. She blinked and cleared her throat.

“Thank you, I’m sure that was it.” Karin nodded, after remembering what they were talking about. She smiled awkwardly. Sakura returned it before leaning back. “This is nice.” Karin admitted. “We don’t have company often.”

“I agree. We don’t get out too often.” Sakura tilted her head. “Or meet such interesting individuals.”

“Don’t make me blush.” Karin giggled, waving a hand dismissively. She stretched, eyeing her watch. “I’m headed to bed.” She decided.

“Goodnight.” Sakura waved.

“’Night, family member!” Naruto waved eagerly, earning him an odd look.

Karin filed out of the room after smiling at Sasuke who waved in response. She walked down the hallway and came to her own room before nearly tripping over Sakura’s bag. She rose a brow. Hadn’t she sat it on the bed?

“Angel, have you been moving my things again?” She asked her familiar, a black snake. She smiled at her and sat on the bed as the ball python ducked her head in a nod before hopping over to her and cuddling up against her side. She chuckled. “I know I was gone all day, but what was I to do? Take you in my purse?” She laughed.

The snake pulled a backpack up with her tail and looked at her expectantly. Karin snorted.

“I’m not sure where you got that from, but next time, sure.” She grinned and opened the back pack, going through it. It was lavender with a couple of college textbooks inside of it. “Poor student.” She tsked and slid the backpack under her bed, opening her arm to her familiar as she slithered around it and draped over her shoulders affectionately. Karin stood up, adjusting her familiar as she changed into her pajamas and settled into bed. Angel settled in as Karin laid on her side.

She held the whisker in her hand and watched as the glowing light dissolved into her palm. She gasped a bit as a rush of energy took her. Her eyes widened and she shot up, back against the wall as several figures consisting of ethereal light could be seen through the walls. She smiled brightly and looked at each one. She recognized Suigetsu right off: blue and green with wave like movement and oceanic energy, Jugo’s was next. It had the same read as his birds, and the other animals of the house, welcoming and docile, though a sliver in his heart was bright red and daring. She narrowed her eyes at a bright orange signature, Naruto if she had to guess.

Curiously, enough, he had nine tails instead of one. She found herself decidedly insecure about her form and decided not to push it by transforming just yet. He was also leaking some sort of radiant energy. When his ears twitched and he turned towards her, she knew he was able to sense her as well. She waved and he waved back in confusion, likely confusion of how he knew she waved. She giggled to herself and looked at the black signature.

It was prickly, but not hostile. Sasuke, she guessed. He was certainly original blood line like she had guessed. Crimson eyes and a powerful essence. He had to be a direct and recent descendant of the perpetual grandfather named Madara. She snorted in amusement at the thought, then looked towards the last one in the building, warded off by charms thankfully so she saw only those inside of it.

At first, it was an unassuming presence, like that of a human. It was a pleasant shade of green that reminded her of light filtered through the leaves of a forest. She continued to stare and as she did, she saw more and more, opening up and revealing itself openly to her. Her eyes widened and she found herself leaning forward. It was beautiful and ancient, yet young and strong. She had a signature like a human, but only at first.

The more she stared, the more she saw. She wasn’t sure how long she had been watching, but eventually, Sakura had laid down in the guest room and quickly fell asleep. She watched as another signature came into view beside her—foreign. Karin bolted up, grabbing her own gun as she exited the room and barged into Sakura’s only to see no one. She closed her eyes.

“Karin?” Sakura said sleepily, sitting up as she was recently woken.

“Are you alright? I sensed someone was here?” Soon to follow was Naruto.

“Sakura, who is that?!” He yelled. Sakura stared at the two, holding the sheets up to her chest despite wearing a tank top.

“W-What do you mean?” Sakura asked warily and looked around.

“That purple person!” Naruto shouted.

“The person wouldn’t be purple, that’s just their soul’s signature, idiot.” Karin hissed.

“Alright, so Kitsune can see souls.” Sakura said, folding her hands and looking at them with a now heavy amount of annoyance. “What’s going on?”

“Ha! I guess a little proper influence might have awoken the trait in him!” Karin said, looking at Naruto proudly.

“Woah,” He responded, looking down at his hands. “I guess so. Oh! But there was someone in here! They were floating above you!”

Sakura looked up, then deadpanned at the two of them before laying back down and going back to sleep. Naruto and Karin looked at each other before Naruto bravely approached and nudged her shoulder. Karin yanked him back by the collar of his jacket just in time to move him out of the way of a hand that threatened to redden his cheek.

“No one is there! I want to sleep!” Sakura whined.

Karin narrowed her eyes at the signature that was trying desperately to hold on to Sakura, keeping her sleepy.

“O-Oh god, it’s a dream eater!” Karin stammered. “Hold on—I’ll get the iron—do you have any of those Japanese tome-charm-things?!”

“Y-Yes! In my bag! I’ll go get them!” Naruto exclaimed.

“It’s trying to kill you!” Karin shouted.

“A dream eater…” Sakura echoed, narrowing her eyes before realizing they meant Tenten. “She’s not trying to kill me! She’s my friend!” She threw her pillow at Karin but then regretted the aggression. Karin looked at her, heart broken.

“That’s a dangerous friend to have, Sakura.” She said quietly.

“Tenten is the most harmless person I’ve ever met.” Sakura crossed her arms, not willing to let anyone talk badly about her. Though, ‘most harmless’ was extremely inaccurate. ‘Most likely to not harm me’, would be a better statement.

“Oh.” Karin said after a moment. “Alright.” She handed her the pillow from the floor and Sakura gratefully set it down. “Sorry for assuming. I’ll stop Naruto.”

“Thank you for your apology. Sorry for throwing things.” Sakura smiled tiredly before laying down again and rolling over with her back to Karin as she drifted off to sleep. Karin pressed her mouth into a thin line and watched as the purple signature manifested once again and delicately reached down to cup Sakura’s face. She tilted her head before walking out and stopping Naruto in the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! At last! This one took a while to write. Let me know what you think! An author's life source are reviews.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! What you want to see!


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